Flinders increases Champion Resource

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Flinders Mines (ASX: FMS) has updated the Mineral Resource at the Champion deposit at the company’s wholly-owned Pilbara Iron Ore Project (PIOP) in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Flinders completed an infill drilling program at the PIOP this year, which included a substantial amount of new drilling at the Champion deposit.

 

Location of the Champion deposit within the broader Pilbara Iron Ore Project (PIOP). Source: Company announcement

 

Based on the results of this drilling, the updated Mineral Resource for the Champion deposit is 202.1 million tonnes at 55.7 per cent iron, using a +50 per cent iron cut-off.

A healthy proportion of this Mineral Resource is now in the Indicated category – 199.5 million tonnes at 55.7 per cent iron.

The Mineral Resource is comprised of 48.4Mt of Bedded Iron Deposit (BID) at 55.9 per cent iron, 133.7Mt of Detrital Iron Deposit (DID) at 55.8 per cent iron and 20Mt of Channel Iron Deposit (CID) at 54.9 per cent iron.

The previous Mineral Resource for the Champion deposit was 173.5Mt at 55.3 per cent iron, which means the updated resource represents an increase of 28.6Mt.

Flinders explained the increase is due to the discovery of predominantly high quality DID and BID mineralisation via infill drilling undertaken in the central part of the deposit, which was undertaken this year to increase the confidence of the resource to the Indicated category rather than to increase the overall size of the resource.

The company said the increase, together with recent positive drilling results from the Blackjack and Paragon deposits, highlight the importance of its ongoing exploration and the potential for further mineralisation to be identified.

The company indicated it would combine this Mineral Resource update with the other deposits across the PIOP in coming months, which it anticipates will culminate in an update to the PIOP global resource to be integrated into the Bankable Feasibility Study, currently due for completion by the end of June 2015.

Email: info@flindersmines.com

Website: www.flindersmines.com

Metallum records high grades at San Sebastian

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Metallum Ltd (ASX: MNE) informed the market the exploration tunnel it is installing at the San Sebastian mine has encountered wide, high-grade copper and gold mineralisation.

San Sebastian is part of the El Roble copper project in Chile, where the company has mapped more than 60 kilometres of mineralised veins.

Work has commenced on installing an exploration tunnel along the length of the San Sebastian vein, with initial assays returning very high grades at good widths, including:

1.55 metres at 18.35 per cent copper;

1.5m at 11.65 per cent copper;

0.8m at 16.32 per cent copper and 6.37 grams per tonne gold; and

0.9m at 7.05 per cent copper and 3.75g/t gold.

Metallum entered an option to acquire the San Sebastian concession in August 2014.

It is currently mining and trucking material from the Panga Mine while awaiting a permit to commence similar operations at the nearby Paraguay Mine.

The company explained San Sebastian covers a major mineralised structure within the El Roble vein system.

The option agreement allows Metallum exclusive access to conduct exploration and assessment work prior to exercising the option.

As part of its assessment program, Metallum has commenced an exploration tunnel from the existing 1040 level footwall drive to intersect the interpreted position of the high-grade copper vein mapped and sampled in the upper 1090 level.

 

Plan view of the San Sebastian mine showing existing footwall drive
(1040 level) and newly installed exploration tunnel in relation to the
historic mine workings approximately 50m above. Source: Company
announcement

 

Metallum previously announced sampling from the vein in the 1090 level returned copper grades of up to 5.79 per cent over 2.2m and individual samples from remnant pillars up to 14.25 per cent copper.

“What we’ve encountered at San Sebastian is a high-grade vein between 0.5 metres and three metres in width along the total tunnel length of 25 metres to date,” Metallum managing director Zeff Reeves said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The results also reported some excellent gold grades, and this work justifies our decision to acquire the concession and work towards establishing an underground mining operation there as soon as possible.

“We’re stockpiling the material from the tunnel and the high-grade stockpile has assayed 22.5 per cent copper.

“Obviously we are pleased with how San Sebastian is looking, and we are targeting the wider portions of the vein beneath the historic workings which we are yet to reach.

“We’ve also submitted an application to operate there so we can commence mining and delivering material to the mill as soon as possible.”

Metallum has plans to continue the tunnel to the north along the vein underneath the historic mine area, which it expects to encounter in approximately 25m.

Once this tunnel has been installed, it is envisaged that it will provide immediate access to vertical stoping areas to be mined up to the 1090 level, as soon as a mining permit is granted.

Metallum has completed mine planning and permitting work for the San Sebastian mine, which includes a full geotechnical assessment, detailed planning, scheduling and budgeting in order to commence underground mining activities as soon as possible.

All permitting documentation has been submitted to Chilean authorities to obtain an operating permit to extract up to 5000 tonnes of copper bearing material per month.

Website: www.metallum.com.au

Impact reaches 51% earn-in at Broken Hill JV

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) has earned a 51 per cent interest in the rights to nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation from Golden Cross Resources (ASX: GCR) at the Broken Hill Joint Venture project in New South Wales.

Impact said it has decided to work towards earning 80 per cent of the metal rights by spending a further $200,000, which has to be completed by 2017.

Impact revealed this expenditure would be met during the forthcoming drill program to be conducted at the Red Hill prospect.

The company was recently awarded a grant of $125,000 under the NSW State Government’s Co-operative Drilling Funding Program.

The Red Hill prospect is a host ultramafic intrusive unit, which outcrops over an area of about 500 square metres with a nickel-rich core and copper-precious metal-rich margins – a feature Impact explained to be common in many major nickel-copper-precious metal sulphide deposits around the world.

 

Geology and Soil and Rock Chip results from the Red Hill prospect. Source: Company announcement

 

The centre of the unit is marked by nickel-in-soil values greater than 10,000ppb and up to 16,100ppb nickel (MMI digest) that is 100m wide and 300m long.

“This is a priority area for drilling,” Impact Minerals said in its ASX announcement.

“Both the western and, in particular, the eastern margins of the unit are marked by copper-in-soil results greater than 2,500ppb and up to 16,200ppb copper (MMI digest) that are up to 200m wide and 600m long.

“Within these margins there are a further three priority areas for follow up work that contain greater than 20 ppb platinum+palladium+gold-in-soil results (fire assay) covering several hundred square metres and which contain rock chip samples with high grade nickel, copper and precious metal assays.”

A soil geochemistry survey was completed by Impact at a spacing of 50m by 50m and submitted for analysis by the MMI partial digest (nickel and copper) and fire assay (platinum, palladium, gold and silver).

Follow up detailed mapping at scales of 1:500 and 1:1000 as well as further rock chip sampling have also recently been completed at Red Hill.

The company indicated it is to commence an Induced Polarisation ground geophysical survey by mid-October and the results of all of this work will be integrated to define specific drill targets.

Drilling is scheduled to commence in November 2014 subject to statutory approvals, the documentation for which has been lodged with the relevant government department.

Email: info@impactminerals.com.au

Website: www.impactminerals.com.au

Positive results from Coolgardie Rare Metals Venture

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: The Coolgardie Rare Metals Venture (CRMV) between Cobre Montana (ASX: CXB) and Focus Minerals (ASX: FML) is investigating the occurrence of lithium and rare metals within certain mining tenements controlled by Focus in the Coolgardie region of Western Australia.

The CRMV has conducted a field examination of known pegmatite occurrences within the area, which it claims has identified a variety of lithium minerals, principally within the vicinity of Lepidolite Hill, approximately 15 kilometres south of Coolgardie, where approximately 400,000 tonnes of material has been excavated and most of the lepidolite, a lithium mica, has been deposited in waste dumps adjacent to the pit.

Cobre Montana has been investigating processing technology capable of providing advantages over conventional lithium extraction technology.

In its efforts to identify this superior processing technology, Cobre has entered into a technology sharing agreement with Perth-based Strategic Metallurgy.

This alliance will work to optimise Strategic’s proprietary technology for use on Cobre Montana projects.

Cobre believes the technology will be applicable to processing lepidolite, a material rarely considered to be a lithium ore mineral.

A mineralised sample from outcrop near Lepidolite Hill was prepared for froth flotation to ensure concentrates of an appropriate grade could be produced as a feed source for further down-stream processing using Strategic’s processing technology.

The sample used for the initial scoping produced the following results:

 

Source: Company announcement

 

“The ability to separate lepidolite from other constituents of the pegmatite, by conventional froth flotation, has been demonstrated to be very effective, however the process requires optimisation and in particular, the sensitivity to grind size,” Cobre Montana said in its announcement to the ASX.

“Optimisation parameters will be examined in future tests.

“A further bulk sample has been taken from dumps at Lepidolite Hill and this is being prepared for floatation testing.

“The lepidolite concentrate produced from the Lepidolite Hill dumps will be used for further testing to recover lithium, and other metals.”

Email: info@cobremontana.com.au

Website: www.cobremontana.com.au

Cassini drilling hits anticipated mineralisation

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Cassini Resources (ASX: CZI) has encountered high-tenor mineralisation while conducting the maiden drilling program on the Nebo and Babel deposits at the company’s 100 per cent-owned West Musgrave project in Western Australia.

Assay results from the first four RC drill holes at Nebo have been received, which include intersections of high‐grade nickel and copper.

Assay results from the first four drill holes include:

WMC0015
28 metres at 1.38 per cent nickel and 0.87 per cent copper from 63m, including 6m at 3.40 per cent nickel and 0.96 per cent copper from 84m; and

WMC0004

29m at 1.00 per cent nickel and 0.61 per cent copper from 56m, including 2m at 3.12 per cent nickel and 1.07 per cent copper from 81m.

 

Section through 371900E showing WMC0015 intercept. Source: Company announcement

 

Cassini explained Nebo-Babel is a shallow, large tonnage open pittable nickel sulphide orebody, from which the company considers a resource grade of greater than 0.7 per cent nickel and 0.6 per cent copper to be noteworthy.

In respect to this, the company believes the results from the first four drill holes at the project to be exceptional.

Cassini emphasised the results from drill hole WMC0015, indicating it had intersected the thickest and highest grade mineralisation drilled to date on Section 371900E.

The previous best historical intercept had returned 16m at 0.84 per cent nickel and 0.56 per cent copper in hole WMN23.

The company said this supports its belief the previous drill spacing on nominal 200m centres was too broad to define a continuous core of higher‐grade mineralisation.

Cassini said it remains confident further drilling will continue to demonstrate the continuity of higher‐grade mineralisation, at depths amenable to open pit mining methods.

It anticipates a maiden Indicated Resource estimate will be prepared at the end of the current drilling program.

The current higher grade Inferred Resource estimate is 33.2 million tonnes at 0.73 per cent nickel and 0.59 per cent copper using a 0.5 per cent nickel cut‐off grade.

“We are very pleased to report such excellent results from Cassini’s maiden drill program at the West Musgrave project,” Cassini Resources managing director Richard Bevan said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“These are exactly the type of results we were after and confirm our view that the Nebo‐Babel deposits represent a realistic near‐term development opportunity.”

Email: admin@cassiniresources.com.au

Website: www.cassiniresources.com.au

Primary identifies new prospective area south of Toms Gully

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Primary Gold (ASX: PGO) has announced a new prospective area immediately south of the company’s Toms Gully gold mine and mill in the Northern Territory.

The company said the areas were confirmed from the results of a reconnaissance sampling program it had carried out at a number of prospects within the Mt Bundy project, including a total of 21 stream sediment samples and 78 soil samples.

Primary Gold said it had been encouraged by the results, which were returned from an area located approximately seven kilometres south of Toms Gully, and were originally highlighted in historic stream sediment samples.

 

Stream sediment sampling in area south of Toms Gully. Source: Company announcement

The company said the new assays had both replicated and, in a number of instances, exceeded the historic values.

Stream sediment assays include 26.7ppb, 17ppb and 16.2ppb and are supported by overbank samples up to 45ppb.

The company highlighted the point that the results exceed the maximum stream sediment assay (13ppb) that led to the discovery of the high-grade Toms Gully deposit in the late 1980s, adding that it considers them to highlights the prospectivity of the area.

The company claims the prospectivity is also supported by the geological setting, which is characterised by tight antiformal structures within the propsective Gerowie Tuff and Mt Bonnie Formation.

Primary Gold explained these are key features of the plus-12g/t Zapopan deposit (east of Pine Creek), and are thought to be important vectors when searching for look-alike, high-grade mineralisation.

“The area not only has the right geology, in terms of structure and stratigraphy, it is also returning assays which to date exceed those returned from our high-grade Toms Gully deposit at a similar stage of its discovery,” Primary Gold managing director Clay Gordon said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We will now turn our attention to infilling and broadening the geochemical coverage in this exciting area.”

Website: www.primarygold.com.au

Rumble identifies priority targets at Zanthus project

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Rumble Resources (ASX: RTR) has identified three priority target areas from a high-powered moving loop ground based EM survey (MLTEM) currently underway at the company’s Zanthus project.

The Zanthus project is located 18 kilometres east of the Nova-Bollinger nickel copper massive sulphide discoveries of Sirius Resources (ASX: SIR) in the Fraser Range, Western Australia.

Rumble described one of three priority target areas as an ‘eye’ feature, which was interpreted as an elliptical magnetic rimmed intrusive body some 2km in length and up to 1km wide and of similar size to the Nova ‘eye’ feature.

Initial processing by Rumble of the data covering the eye feature has generated some encouraging results with five conductors identified.

 

Zanthus ‘eye’ conductors. Source: Company announcement

 

The company explained ‘eye’ shaped magnetic features as being indicators commonly associated with mafic intrusive complexes that host nickel-copper-PGE ore bodies.

These eye features are priority targets when exploring for massive sulphide ore bodies.

The company emphasised the modelling is only in preliminary stages yet has produced these initial interpretations:

ZC1, ZC2 and ZC3 are of noteworthy conductance and are situated at reasonably shallow depth to top (approx. 100 to 200m). These will be a high-priority for the company’s next stage of drilling.

ZC4 and ZC5 – Rumbles is conducting ongoing infill ground EM with additional processing to work out the conductivity, strike, dip and depth of the bodies.

Rumble Resources CEO Shane Sikora said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Our systematic exploration approach continues to generate compelling nickel sulphide targets at our Fraser Range projects providing our shareholders with the best chance of finding the next major nickel discovery.

“To identify significant bedrock conductors across an eye feature of similar size to the Nova ‘eye’ has been an exciting development.

“Combine this with the interpreted Voisey’s Bay feeder system at our Big Red project and our low market cap, Rumble offers considerable leverage to exploration success.

“We look forward to continuing to explore across the Zanthus project and drill the compelling Big Red target to the north in the next four to five weeks.’

Rumble indicated it has extended its ground EM program due to the success it has had in the early stages of its geophysics program.

The company considers potential exists for further conductor identification over the following weeks.

As more detail emerges of the five conductors and any further conductors identified in the ongoing program, they will be prioritised on the basis of these attributes and geology to underpin future drill programs.

Email: enquiries@rumbleresources.com.au

Website: www.rumbleresources.com.au

Arunta completes maiden tungsten Resource at Hatches Creek

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Arunta Resources (ASX: AJR) has completed a maiden high-grade JORC compliant resource at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Hatches Creek tungsten project in the Northern Territory.

The Inferred Resource, of 225,066 tonnes grading 0.58 per cent tungsten for 1,311 tonnes of contained tungsten, encompasses surface stockpiles of material accumulated during a 42 year mining history at Hatches Creek between 1915 and 1957.

“For comparison purposes, the resource grade is some 70 per cent higher than the average grade of the eight major global tungsten deposits currently being explored or developed by ASX-listed companies,” Arunta Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“In light of this and the favourable outlook for the tungsten market – which is being driven by growing demand for its use in cutting and drilling tools, military applications, light bulbs and high-tech applications such as super-alloys for turbine blades – the company has decided to use the maiden JORC resource as the foundation to evaluate a commercial development of the Hatches Creek project.”

 

Hatches Creek tungsten mines. Source: Company announcement

 

Arunta considers the maiden JORC resource at Hatches Creek confirms the presence of sufficient tonnages of high-grade near-surface material to support a potential near-term development.

The company indicated it will use the maiden resource to underpin a Scoping Study, which it has targeted for completion before the end of 2014.

The study will assess the viability of bringing the project into production in 2015.

Arunta said it has already fielded expressions of interest from specialty metals traders for potential off-take of tungsten concentrate from the Hatches Creek project, adding this has provided confidence in the commercial imperatives to fast-track development of the project.

Email: info@aruntaresources.com.au

Website: www.aruntaresources.com.au

Impact encounters bonanza grades at Commonwealth

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) has received more results from the maiden drill program underway at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Commonwealth project located north of Orange in New South Wales.

The company claims the latest results have further extended the high-grade, near surface deposit at Commonwealth South.

Reverse circulation (RC) drill hole CMIPT017 returned:

7 metres at 25.5 grams per tonne gold, 62g/t silver, 3.8 per cent zinc, 1.6 per cent lead and 0.1 per cent copper from 88m down hole (about 50 m below surface).

This intercept included 4m at 41.8g/t (1.3 ounces per tonne) gold, 93g/t silver, 5.5 per cent  zinc, 2.3 per cent  lead from 90m, including 1m at 61g/t (2 ounces per tonne) gold, 140g/t silver, 5.9 per cent zinc, 2.7 per cent lead from 91 m.

This intercept is in fresh rock and lies above a previously reported intercept in CMIPT09 of 5m at 5.3g/t gold, 18g/t silver, 0.8 per cent zinc and 0.2 per cent lead from 94 m and including 1 m at 16 g/t gold, 27 g/t silver, 0.6 per cent lead and 1.3 per cent zinc.

In addition RC drill hole CMIPT014 returned:

21m at 2.9g/t gold, 21.6g/t silver, 1.2 per cent zinc and 0.6 per cent lead from 53m, including 2m at 6.7g/t gold, 61.6g/t silver, 3.8 per cent zinc, 3.2 per cent lead from 53m, including 4m at 6g/t gold, 25g/t silver, 1.4 per cent zinc, 0.3 per cent lead from 72m.

 

Long Section between Main Shaft and Commonwealth South prospects showing
drill hole locations, gold and silver mineralisation, IP anomalies and
Impact’s drill intercepts in yellow boxes. Source: Company announcement

 

“These significant gold results continue to be very encouraging for the discovery of a significant deposit at Commonwealth,” Impact Minerals managing director Dr Mike Jones said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This is the first systematic drill program beneath the near surface high-grade mineralisation and our intention was to try to define the orientation of the mineralisation in order to allow further step out drilling at depth. This is being achieved.

“The first discovery of massive sulphide mineralisation at Commonwealth South is also very exciting for Impact with the potential for further extensions to the south and at depth.

“Further ground IP and soil geochemistry surveys will commence next month to help define the follow up drill targets.

“In addition our maiden drill program has only tested a very small part of the 20 kilometre long mineralised trend within Impact’s licences and includes the recently recognised and undrilled Doughnut target 2 kilometres to the north.

“This area has strong copper-in-soil responses and is also a priority target for follow up work including the IP surveys.

“Whilst this work is in progress, we will also be preparing for our maiden drill program at the Broken Hill nickel-copper-PGE project for which Impact was awarded this week a grant of $125,000 from the New South Wales Government.

“We have some exciting targets to test at Red Hill.”

Email: info@impactminerals.com.au

Website: www.impactminerals.com.au

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to work we go

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Each week any number of junior exploration plays set out to drill their ground. Here’s a small selection of what’s been happening this week.

$125,000 co-funding for drilling program

Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) is to receive $125,000 under the New South Wales State Government’s Co-operative Drilling Funding Program.

The cash will help fund upcoming drilling at the company’s Broken Hill nickel-copper-PGE Joint Venture project.

“The award of this significant grant by the New South Wales Government further emphasises the highly-prospective nature of the Broken Hill project,” Impact Minerals managing director Dr Mike Jones said.

“The funds will go towards our drill program at the Red Hill prospect where we have defined four priority drill targets with very significant and high-grade rock chip and soil sampling results.

“In today’s climate where every exploration dollar counts, the award of these funds is a credit to our COO, Leo Horn, who successfully secured this funding.”

Impact is earning an 80 per cent interest in the nickel-copper-PGE rights to the project from Golden Cross Resources.


Exploration kicks off on two fronts

Aruma Resources (ASX: AAJ) has commenced exploration activity at itsBulloo Downs copper project in the Ashburton Region of Western Australia and at the Glandore gold project, near Kalgoorlie.

The company has started geological surveying using HyMap technology at Bulloo Downs, as well as a program of aircore drilling at Glandore.

The drilling program is expected to last about eight days, and the samples will be assayed in Kalgoorlie, with the results expected in October.

Drilling commences at Kitongo gold project

Rift Valley Resources (ASX: RVY) has commenced drilling at the Kitongo gold project in Tanzania.

The company said exploration at the project has been prevented for a number of years due to the presence of illegal artisanal miners.

A 10 hole RC program commenced with drilling focused on testing immediate extensions to the Main Zone mineralisation.

This is the first opportunity for drilling at the Main Zone deposit since 2001 and is the first stage in assessing the full potential of the project.

“We are pleased to finally have the opportunity to test the high-grade gold targets at Kitongo,” Rift Valley Resources managing director Geoff Gilmour said.

“We expect that this will be the start of a substantial exploration program at the project.”


Karly project, commencement of drilling

Reward Minerals (ASX: RWD) has received relevant approvals for a planned drilling programm to be conducted at the Karly project, located within the Waukarlycarly Embayment, Western Australia.

Heritage surveys have been completed over the southern half of the Karly tenement area and some 40 reverse circulation (RC) drill holes are planned for completion over the next three months.

The program will target sulfate of potash (SOP) brine resources.

The drilling program has been formulated to target areas of high conductivity as identified by Geoscience Australia in its 2010/12 Record – Aerial Electromagnetic Survey (AEM) of the Paterson Province, WA.


Drilling to commence on nickel-sulphide targets

Buxton Resources (ASX: BUX) has confirmed confirm planning, permitting and engagement of a drill contractor is now complete for a RC drill program to be carried out at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Zanthus nickel-copper project, located 60km along strike from Sirius Resources’ Nova-Bollinger discovery in the Fraser Range Nickel province, Western Australia.

Drill pad clearing and track access construction is underway and drilling is expected to begin in early October 2014.

The program will consist of approx. 1,500m of RC drilling primarily targeting a newly defined MLTEM anomaly at Oaktree North.

At least four additional untested targets previously generated will also be drilled.