Mithril Resources picks hot nickel licks at Hendrix

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Mithril Resources (ASX: MTH) has completed a review of historic exploration activities by International Nickel Australia Limited (INCO) in 1970 at the Hendrix nickel prospect.

Hendrix is one of four psychedelic rock-themed nickel–copper–PGE anomalies, along with Floyd, Zeppelin, and Scott the company has recently identified at its West Kambalda project, located approximately 30 kilometres west of the Kambalda Nickel Mining Centre.

Mithril’s review of INCO’s work has revealed an intersection of 9.1 metres at 2.5 per cent nickel from 10.7 metres within a broad zone of anomalous nickel.

 

Hendrix Line 2 cross-section showing INCO drillholes, nickel
mineralised zones and interpreted geology. Source: Company announcement

Mithril found the drilling had intersected anomalous nickel within weathered ultramafic rocks in most holes including:

Z8445,
9.1m at 0.6 per cent nickel, 107ppm copper from surface;

Z8446
18.3m at 0.7 per cent nickel, 58ppm copper from 4.6m;

Z8447
24.4m at 1.2 per cent nickel, 118ppm copper from 7.6m, including 9.1m at 2.5 per cent nickel, 155ppm copper from 10.7m;

Z9546
7.6m at 0.9 per cent nickel, 159ppm copper from 13.7m, including 3m at 1.2 per cent nickel, 223ppm copper from 13.7m;

Z9547
18.3m at 0.74 per cent nickel, 132ppm copper from 18.3m; and

Z9553
6.1m at 0.7 per cent nickel, 112ppm coper from 10.7m.

The anomalies occur within the Logan’s Find area, which is subject to a Farm-in and Joint Venture Agreement with KalNorth Gold Mines (ASX: KGM), whereby Mithril can to earn up to an 80 per cent interest by completing expenditure of $2 million over a four year period.

The company completed auger geochemical sampling at Hendrix in late 2013, which defined a 600m by 250m north-west trending nickel anomaly (defined as greater than 1,000ppm nickel with a maximum value of 5,504ppm or 0.55 per cent nickel) with coincident anomalous copper (greater than 100 ppm – maximum of 160ppm), platinum+palladium+gold (greater than 50ppb – maximum of 68ppb platinum, 55ppb palladium and 12ppb gold).

Mithril’s investigations into the historic exploration activities reveal INCO drilled 17 vertical holes on three traverses over a 100m by 100m area within the central portion of the Hendrix anomaly as part of a larger more regional program.

There is no evidence to suggest the other anomalies were drilled by INCO.

To assess the significance of the historic results and to test for potential massive nickel sulphide mineralisation, Mithril has commenced geological mapping and Moving Loop TEM (MLTEM) geophysical surveying of the anomalies with results expected by the end of the current Quarter.

Email: admin@mithrilresources.com.au

Website: www.mithrilresources.com.au

Metals of Africa identifies multiple U-IOCG targets

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Metals of Africa (ASX: MTA) has completed a program of geophysical modelling at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Mkindu project in Tanzania.

Metals of Africa picked up the Mkindu project in January this year as part of an acquisition of, what the company considers to be, a portfolio of five highly-prospective exploration assets.

 

General location map of MTA’s 100 per cent-owned Tanzanian projects. Source: Company announcement

 

According to the company, geological mapping data of the Mkindu area has confirmed the presence of volcanic filled breccia plug, brecciated sandstone, brecciated igneous rock and alteration of sandstone, which are all important geological criteria for IOCG style mineralisation.

The company recently had further geological modelling conducted by independent geophysicist, David Johnson of Zion Geophysics, which has identified multiple large scale uranium-iron-oxide-copper-gold (U-IOCG) drill targets.

 

Mkindu 3D Magnetic Inversion Isosurface (the blue features represent the drill targets). Scale is in meters therefore the main targets are modelled to occur from near surface to beyond 1km deep. Source: Company announcement

MTA described the identified targets as appearing to be less than 100 metres below surface, predominantly concealed, and are of a substantial size in terms of depth extent and width.

The company indicated it now plans to conduct an initial exploration program including field mapping, surface sampling and ground geophysics.

This work is expected to be finished by about May, depending on how soon access to the site is permitted.

Once the initial part of the program has been completed, returning successful results, MTA anticipates following up with further drilling.
 
“The geophysical modelling involved 3D magnetic inversion processing on airborne magnetic data, flown at a line spacing of 250 metres, which identified multiple intrusions in an area believed to be conceptually prospective for Olympic Dam style U-IOCG style mineralisation,” Metals of Africa said in its ASX announcement.

“Olympic Dam is a multi-mineral ore body, it is the world’s largest known uranium deposit and also boasts considerable quantities of copper, gold, silver and rare earth elements.

“It is Australia’s largest underground mine.”

MTA indicated it would also be carrying out exploration activities at the company’s main Rio Mazoe project in Mozambique where a maiden drill program in 2013 intersected a number of high-grade lead-zinc mineralised zones at the Meque prospect.

Work at Rio Mazoe will recommence after the current wet season.

Email: admin@metalsofafrica.com.au

Website: www.metalsofafrica.com.au

Bora Bora Resources extends Kahatagaha graphite anomaly

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Bora Bora Resources (ASX: BBR) has received initial results from a recently conducted Airborne VTEM survey over the company’s granted exploration licences in central Sri Lanka.

The survey flew over the company’s Matale graphite project, which is located adjacent to the historic Kahatagaha graphite mine.

The company claims the VTEM results have identified a clear late time electromagnetic anomaly, which correlates with the exact position of the operating Kahatagaha graphite mine.

 

Location of anomaly over Kahatagaha graphite mine relative to Matale graphite project tenements. Source: Company announcement

 

Bora Bora considers an obvious source of the anomaly to be conductive graphite at depth with the company’s initial interpretation and modelling indicating a depth of 50 metres to 150 metres to the top of the conductive body.

The VTEM also shows the anomaly extending onto the company’s granted exploration licences.

Bora Bora said the results have confirmed the VTEM anomaly, most probably caused by extensions of the Kahatagaha Mine’s graphite mineralisation, extends into the company’s Matale graphite project.

The company also believes the results indicate potential for high-grade graphite mineralisation extensions onto the Matale Licenses, similar to that found at Kahatagaha where grades exceed 90 per cent total graphitic carbon (TGC).

“These results suggest a strong potential for the Kahatagaha style, high-grade graphite mineralisation to extend into the company’s Matale tenements,” Bora Bora Resources executive director Chris Cowan said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“It is also pleasing to have confirmed that the VTEM system has been highly successful in isolating the high-grade graphite mineralisation unique to Sri Lanka from its host rock.

“This gives me great confidence that Bora Bora Resources will be able to achieve further exciting results and continue to identify any additional major anomalies to target for on-ground follow up when the remainder of the VTEM datasets has been interpreted.”

Email: info@boraboraresources.com.au

Website: www.boraboraresources.com.au

New copper re-invigorates Yorke Peninsula

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: There’s been a bit of fuss recently regarding copper exploration on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, but it’s nothing the area hasn’t seen before.

The region came to be known as the Copper Coast after a bloke by the name of Paddy Ryan stumbled across copper traces emerging from of the burrow of an industrious wombat in 1861.

Unfortunately for Paddy the land the wombat chose to inhabit wasn’t under his name, instead it was a pastoral lease granted to one, Walter Watson Hughes.

Presumably thankful for Paddy’s observational skills, Hughes subsequently formed the Tipara Mining Company, which later became the Moonta Mining Co.

In the late 1800s, Moonta boasted the largest urban population in South Australia outside of Adelaide, numbering around 12,000 people.

A good number of the growing population to descend on the new copper rush chasing their possible copper-based fortunes were many Cornish miners and their families.

Nowadays the Copper Coast is heavily reliant on diversified arable farming activities based on cereal grains, oilseeds and pulses, and livestock with the agriculture sector being a major employer within the region.

However…

There does seem to be something of a resurgence in copper exploration on the Yorke Peninsula with some companies beginning to spark the imagination of Resource-focused investors.

Marmota Energy (ASX: MEU) completed Phase 1 calcrete sampling at the company’s West Melton project in 2013, which identified key target zones on the West Melton and Melton Exploration Licences, which the company rated good enough to warrant low cost follow up exploration.

 

West Melton anomaly. Source: Company

 

The West Melton copper-gold project is located on the Yorke Peninsula adjacent to recent copper-gold discoveries and sits at the southern end of the Olympic Copper Gold Province, which is considered to be prospective for iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) deposits.

When you throw names such as Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill, Carrapateena, and the historic Moonta-Wallaroo mines in to the mix that seems reasonable.

Late last year, Marmota completed a program of infill geochemical sampling and geophysical surveys on the company’s West Melton copper-gold project.

Assay results from 25 metre spaced infill calcrete sampling confirmed the existence of a copper in-calcrete anomaly coincident with gravity and magnetic features, extending for more than 1.2 kilometres.

Modelling of the results by Marmota indicate potential mineralised bodies could be as shallow as 15m.

Marmota has indicated that there has been no previous drilling carried out to test this particular anomaly, with the nearest historic drill hole four kilometres away.

The company has a program of shallow aircore drill testing of priority targets within the defined copper anomaly planned to commence this month (March 2104).

Several drill holes are also planned adjacent to the historic Areena mine shaft workings, located on the West Melton tenement, where historic copper mine information workings were undertaken in 1863.

According to Marmota a newspear of the day reported, ‘very good quality yellow and grey ore with green carbonate intermixed’ was extracted and was named the ‘Champion Load’.

The South Australia Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy (DMITRE) database reports malachite and chalcopyrite were extracted from the Areena workings.

Also busy in the region is Adelaide Resources (ASX: ADN) with its Moonta copper-gold project, located in the Moonta-Wallaroo district of the Yorke Peninsula.

 

Moonta copper-gold project location. Source: Company

 

In 2013, Adelaide carried out a 122 hole aircore drill program over a 1,100 metre interval of a 3,500 metre anomaly known as Alford West.

The drilling revealed mineralisation appearing to be continuous along the entire 1,100m section the company has tested to date.

The company completed a shallow air core drill program in 2013 at the Alford West prospect, which encountered some very encouraging intersections including:

20 metres at 4.2 per cent copper and 0.27 grams per tonne gold from 32m; and

45m at 1.56 per cent copper and 1.83g/t gold from 13m.
 
The company has also identified new prospective targets called Blue Tongue, Blue Tongue West and Kambula using FPXRF geochemistry near Alford West.

Adelaide Resources has just released results from its maiden aircore drilling of the Blue Tongue target, which encountered a wide zone of low grade copper mineralisation on each of three drill traverses completed.

Laboratory assayed intersections include:

ALWAC128
25 metres at 0.26 per cent copper from 29 metres downhole;

ALWAC129
12m at 0.29 per cent copper from 46m downhole;

ALWAC131
14m at 0.31 per cent copper from 59m downhole;

ALWAC143
8m at 0.34 per cent copper from 55m downhole;

ALWAC154
9m at 0.30 per cent copper from 27m downhole;

ALWAC156
8m at 0.48 per cent copper from 21m downhole;

ALWAC158
14m at 0.30 per cent copper from 38m downhole; and

ALWAC159
9m at 0.24 per cent copper from 73m downhole.

Adelaide said the Blue Tongue drilling program has extended the dimensions of the known mineralised system in the broader Alford West area, adding close to another kilometre of mineralised strike length additional to the main Alford West prospect.

The Blue Tongue mineralisation remains open to both the southwest and northeast and at depth, and the company declared it believes a good chance exists it will extend still further.

“The broader Alford West area is clearly emerging as a major copper mineralised system within the Alford Copper Belt, which also includes the large Wombat system to the west and potentially other mineralised systems to the east,” Adelaide Resources said.

“The recent drilling at Blue Tongue confirms that the FPXRF copper soil anomaly which defines the target is sourced by the underlying copper mineralisation, presenting a strong validation of the technique’s application.”

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.

Drilling to commence at Alumbre project

Promesa Ltd (ASX: PRA) has received formal ratification from the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) it can proceed with drilling activities at the Alumbre project.

There had been a delay in responding to the application to commence drilling activities, which Promesa explained was due to a review of the public record relating to Government land holdings in the area.

“The company is pleased…that we can finally drill this promising prospect,” Promesa technical director Michael Sebbag said.

“The DIA and the MEM’s acceptance of its Commencement of Works notification means we can start Phase 1 of the drilling program at Alumbre.

“The potential for the Alumbre prospect to prove up to be a world class deposit is indeed an exciting time.”
 
The Alumbre project is a gold-copper-molybdenum porphyry system located southeast of Trujillo in northern Peru.

Final drill permitting lodged Kimsa Orcco, Peru

Laconia Resources (ASX: LCR) has initiated the final drill permitting process and lodged all required documentation to seek formal approval to drill from the Peruvian regulator, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM).

Drill approval is expected after a 30 day statutory review period. This review period has now commenced.

This follows agreement with the community of Tintay to execute an access and infrastructure agreement with Laconia.

The Tintay community is the third of three community groups Laconia has had to consult in order to gain social licence within the immediate area of impact of its 100 per cent-owned Kimsa Orcco project and the contiguous Huaco Cucho concessions, over which Laconia has an option to earn an 80 per cent indirect interest.

These projects and concessions collectively cover over 8,387 hectares of highly prospective geology in the Peruvian Andes.

Drilling commences at Ilo Norte copper-gold target

Latin Resources (ASX: LRS) has commenced drilling at the company’s Ilo Norte project in accordance with the recently-announced 70 per cent  earn-in option contract.

The holes now underway are the first of 12 holes totalling 10,000 metres that are required to be completed within 18 months as part of the earn-in conditions.

Under the agreement Latin geologists are able to access the drilling sites and log drill core, and assay data will be provided to Latin as it becomes available.

Drill core inspected following the commencement of drilling intersected a volcano-sedimentary sequence displaying strata-form iron oxides formed from the weathering of sulphides.

This kind of mineralisation is consistent with Latin’s geological model and was expected to be intersected.

“We are extremely pleased that drilling has commenced so quickly following signing of the definitive earn-in option and assignment agreement over Ilo Norte,” Latin Resources managing director Chris Gale said.

“We are also very pleased that two rigs have been allocated to the project, increasing confidence in the timely realisation of work commitments on the project and ultimately more rapid testing of this fantastic copper-gold target.

“That signs of mineralisation in line with Latin’s geological model have been encountered so early in the program is also very encouraging.”

Rain causes Morille drilling postponement

Plymouth Minerals (ASX: PLH) has had to postpone a planned exploration program at the company’s Morille tungsten-tin project in Spain.

Plymouth had originally announced drilling activity was planned to commence in February 2014, however due to unseasonal heavy rains and poor ground conditions, this program has been postponed.

Based on recent weather forecasts the company said it anticipates it to commence in late March 2014.

The adverse weather conditions have afflicted Northern Spain and are related to the same series of low pressure systems which have resulted in extensive rainfall and recent flooding in southern England.

Rox Resources resumes results run at Fisher East

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Rox Resources’ (ASX: RXL) success with the drill bit has continued with some highly-agreeable assay results emerging from a recent Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling program at the company’s Fisher East nickel sulphide project, north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

The 14 hole RC drilling program was designed to sharpen the company’s definition of the high-grade zones at its nickel sulphide discoveries at Musket and Cannonball, along the strike of the Camelwood ultramafic unit.

 

Cannonball-Musket North-South drill long section (Musket on
the left hand side, and Cannonball on the right hand side). Source:
Company announcement

Seven RC holes were completed at Musket, which Rox considers to appear to be a thickened north plunging high-grade shoot indicated within a wider zone of mineralisation.

The best result achieved was in hole MFEC065 where massive high-grade nickel sulphide was intersected averaging 8.14 per cent nickel over 2 metres.

Highlights from the recent drilling include:

Hole MFEC055
11 metres at 1.8 per cent nickel from 220 metres downhole, including 3 metres at 2.4 per cent nickel from 225 metres;

Hole MFEC056
6m at 1.5 per cent nickel from 127m downhole;

Hole MFEC059
17m at 2.2 per cent nickel from 214m downhole, including 4m at 3.2 per cent nickel from 214m, including 1m at 6.2 per cent nickel from 215m, and including 4m at 2.5  per cent nickel from 25m;

Hole MFEC064
14m at 1.5 per cent nickel from 191m downhole; and

Hole MFEC065
17m at 2.2 per cent nickel from 227m downhole, including 8m at 3.3 per cent nickel from 227m, including 2m at 8.1 per cent nickel from 227m

“These are terrific results with the thick, high-grade intersections from Musket particularly exciting,” Rox Resources managing director Ian Mulholland said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The two metres grading over eight per cent nickel, which is our best nickel hit yet, indicates the presence of high tenor massive sulphides and the potential for a thicker high-grade shoot at Musket”

The program included four RC drill holes at Cannonball, three of which intersected high-grade mineralisation of widths narrower than those encountered at Musket.

However, Rox said the high-grade and massive nature of the mineralisation developing with increasing depth is encouraging.

Highlights from Cannonball include:

Hole MFEC052
1m at 4.5 per cent nickel from 176m downhole; and

Hole MFEC053
1m at 4.2 per cent nickel from 199m downhole.

Assay results for hole MFEC063 are pending, but visually one metre of massive sulphide was intersected.

“We have now demonstrated that the area has the potential for multiple deposits, and with this high grade nickel intersection the chances of a substantial nickel sulphide mineral resource are significantly enhanced,” Mulholland said.

“Our next step will be to mobilise a diamond rig by the end of this month to commence follow up drilling.”

Email: admin@roxresources.com.au

Website: www.roxresources.com.au

Venturex Resources strikes Whim Creek processing deal

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Venturex Resources (ASX: VXR) has struck a deal with private company Blackrock Metals for the reprocessing of existing oxide copper heap leach pads at the company’s Whim Creek site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Under the agreement, Venturex has granted Blackrock access rights to the existing Whim Creek oxide copper processing site for the purpose of reprocessing the existing heap leach pads to recover copper metal through a refurbished five tonne per day solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW) treatment facility.

Source: Company announcement

Venturex will hold a 15 per cent Net Profit Interest in the reprocessing operation, which the company indicated will be put towards ongoing environmental and administration costs of the overall Whim Creek mine site.

Blackrock have declared the treatment facility to be recommissioned and up and running with first copper cathode production anticipated within the next week.

“This agreement with an experienced SX-EW operator in Blackrock Metals will provide ongoing benefits for all parties involved,” Venturex Resources managing director Michael Mulroney said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We anticipate that the recommencement of processing operations by Blackrock will not only provide a significant financial contribution to management of the overall Whim Creek mine site, but also provide a platform to assess other oxide copper opportunities within the Whim Creek area in the future.

“This continues the company’s strategy of commercialising non-core assets to allow the company to focus on exploring and developing our extensive copper-zinc assets in the Pilbara region through 2014.”

Email: admin@venturexresources.com

Website: www.venturexresources.com

Musgrave Minerals rushes back to drill Frakes discovery

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Musgrave Minerals (ASX: MGV) has kicked off its latest round of diamond drilling at the Frakes silver prospect at the Menninnie Dam project in the southern Gawler Craton region of South Australia with further drilling also scheduled for the Spare Rib lead-zinc target.

In all the company plans to drill six holes on the two prospects.

 

Cross section at Frakes showing drill results, new target and proposed diamond drill hole location. Source: Company announcement

 

Musgrave is following up its recently-announced discovery of high-grade silver at the Frakes prospect where it encountered silver mineralisation intersections of:

MDAC375
10 metres at 990 grams per tonne silver, 0.3 grams per tonne gold, 0.4 per cent lead, 0.3 per cent zinc and 0.2 per cent copper.

This result was achieved in shallow aircore drilling from 43m down hole and included:

2m at 3,942g/t silver, 1g/t gold, 0.7per cent lead, 0.8 per cent zinc and 0.9 per cent copper from 44m down hole.

Musgrave also intersected good levels of lead and zinc mineralisation at the Spare Rib prospect, again at Menninnie Dam, with results including:
 
MDAC307
20m at 2 per cent lead from 67m; and

9m at 1.4 per cent Zn from 88m down hole.

“We are very excited to have the drill rig back out at Frakes and Spare Rib,” Musgrave Minerals managing director Rob Waugh said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Both prospects are open at depth and along strike allowing for upside potential.

“The high silver grades at Frakes and the associated copper and gold is a real positive.

“We are also very keen to see what lies beneath the Spare Rib aircore mineralisation as it is common in this environment for base metals to be depleted in the weathered zone compared to the fresh rock beneath.

“We are hoping for higher grades in fresh rock at Spare Rib and continuity at Frakes as we drill below the existing mineralisation.”

The drilling program is expected to take between two to three weeks to complete with assay results available in late April.

With just over $7 million in the bank, Musgrave Minerals is in a very strong financial position to follow-up any encouraging results identified at Menninnie Dam.

Musgrave Minerals has entered into an agreement with Menninnie Metals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Terramin Australia (ASX: TZN) to earn a 51 per cent interest in the Menninnie Dam project in the first stage, and up to a 75 per cent interest thereafter.

Email: info@musgraveminerals.com.au

Website: www.musgraveminerals.com.au

Elementos expands Cleveland Resources

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Elementos Limited (ASX: ELT) has reported an updated JORC Code-compliant Resource Report for the company’s Cleveland tin-copper and tungsten projects in Tasmania.

According to Elementos the updated JORC Mineral Resource for the Cleveland mine has increased the overall resource tonnage by 1.325 million tonnes (or 22 per cent) and the tin contained metal by 6,400 tonnes (or 15 per cent).

 

Where tin (Sn) Equivalent metal values were made for tin copper
mineralisation, metal prices current at the time were used,
that is, US$22,560 per tonne for tin and US$7,155 per tonne for copper.
Source: Company announcement

 

The overall tin equivalent grade has fallen by five percent, which Elementos indicated was due to:

The exclusion from the Resource of higher-grade blocks, which that have been depleted for mining, to provide more accurate modelling of the underground development and stopes; and

The inclusion of lower-grade resource blocks.

The project’s total Indicated Mineral Resource has increased by 5.002 million tonnes (or 67 per cent).

In preparing the updated mineral resources estimate, Elementos has refined its geological model to the point where the company now considers potential to exist within the Cleveland underground deposits to expand the known mineralisation to the south-west and north-east (along strike) and at depth, and potentially near surface above the current resource.

Elementos has carried out additional drill data, improved modelling of the underground workings and mined stopes as part of its ongoing Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), which is due to be completed for release in the first quarter, 2014.

All of this work has been included in the resource block model and combined with further interpretation of the geology to produce a notable increase in the Global Resource.

On completion of the PFS, Elementos anticipates some Indicated Mineral Resources may be upgraded to Measured Resource status for inclusion in a Definitive Feasibility Study.

“There is excellent potential for further exploration of the Cleveland tin-copper mineralisation,” Elementos Limited said in its ASX announcement.

“The definition and prioritisation of Exploration Targets is continuing, and the results will be reported separately when completed.

“The main tin-bearing lenses remain open at depth and along strike, and there are tin-copper drilling intersections beyond the limits of the current Mineral Resource.

“There are also near surface tin and copper targets that will be investigated further.”

Email: admin@elementos.com.au

Website: www.elementos.com.au

Excelsior Gold pleased with Kalgoorlie North PFS results

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Excelsior Gold (ASX: EXG) has received positive results from a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) into the development of the company’s Kalgoorlie North gold project.

The PFS was based on development of a multiple open pit and underground mining operation centred on the Zoroastrian gold system located 45 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

Excelsior said the results of the PFS demonstrate the project to potentially be a solid base case gold operation, which it expects to be able to develop through further underground and open pit Ore Reserve conversion and expansion and refinement of capital and operating cost estimates.

 

Source: Company announcement

The PFS featured construction of a new standalone one million tonne per annum conventional carbon in leach gold treatment plant to process ore sourced from large open pits at the Zoroastrian and Excelsior deposits and seven smaller satellite pits as well as underground ore from the Zoroastrian gold system.

The final mining phase of the PFS was calculated using an increased gold price of $1,450 per ounce to reflect the current gold price ($1,507/oz at 2 March 2014) and currency exchange rate forecasts for a potential production term from 2016 to 2024.

The PFS Ore Reserves stand at 7.64 million tonnes at 2 grams per tonne gold Au for 491,600 ounces of gold, which were derived from total project Measured and Indicated gold Mineral Resources of 15.6 million tonnes at 1.80g/t gold for 899,800 ounces of gold.

The PFS results include the addition of another Mineral Resource at El Dorado, into the Ore Reserves as well as a reduction in processing costs that were excluded from the interim PFS Ore Reserves earlier this year.

“The new Ore Reserve represents a refinement and extension of the prior interim PFS Ore Reserve open pit and underground mine designs as part of the detailed second pass process to provide optimal results,” Excelsior Gold said in its ASX announcement.

“In the case of Zoroastrian, previously economic material, based on a gold price of $1,375 per ounce, was omitted due to the selection of the suboptimal revenue factor (RF) 0.78 Whittle shell.

“The new Zoroastrian open pit Ore Reserve has utilised the RF 1.0 shell at a $1,450/oz gold price, resulting in a larger open pit and subsequent increase of almost 500,000 tonnes of ore and approximately 38,000 ounces of gold.”

Excelsior declared the current Ore Reserve position demonstrates a potential 7.5 year life of mine, explaining the expected production scheduling indicates improvements in project economics can be achieved by the inclusion of additional higher grade underground ore feed into the milling schedule.

“The PFS Ore Reserve, operating and capital cost estimate is a solid base from which the company now expects to significantly expand open pit and underground gold Ore Reserves and focus on cost reductions to enhance the project economics,” Excelsior said.

“At a time of apparent improving gold price, depreciating exchange rate and more positive investor sentiment, the company intends to devote its resources to improving the economics of the project.

“Subject to available capital the company will initiate further dedicated drilling programs to expand the Ore Reserves to in excess of 600,000 ounces of gold during 2014 in order to extend the potential mine life and drive improved return on capital investment.”

Email: admin@excelsiorgold.com.au

 

Website: www.excelsiorgold.com.au