THE DRILL SERGEANT: IMX Resources (ASX: IXR) has encountered a high-grade intersection from the latest drill hole to be completed at the company’s Ntaka Hill nickel sulphide project in south eastern Tanzania.

New intersection from hole NAD13-372 include:

–    13.65 metres at 3.46 per cent nickel and 0.62 per cent copper from 357.9 metres, including:

–    0.95m at 6.70 per cent nickel and 0.57 per cent copper;

–    2m at 4.58 per cent nickel and 0.87 per cent copper; and

–    1.4m at 4.57 per cent nickel and 0.81 per cent copper.

 

Sleeping Giant cross-section. Source: Company announcement

 

“This early success vindicates the new exploration focus on high-grade mafic intrusive style nickel mineralisation being pursued by our joint venture partner MMG,” IMX Resources acting managing director John Nitschke said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The high-grade intersection lies outside the existing mineral resource and indicates the potential for an upgrade to the Sleeping Giant mineral resource.

“It is not MMG’s intention to follow up this hole at this point in time but rather focus on the identification, prioritisation and testing of similar targets.
 
“There have been several historical intersections of similar width and grade at Ntaka Hill, including drill hole 238 which is located near to, but not thought to be related to, hole 372.”

IMX is currently conducting an exploration campaign of the Nachingwea project, which it explained is focused on high-grade nickel mineralisation.

This has resulted in the Ntaka Hill nickel sulphide project becoming the subject of a five year US$60 million earn-in and joint venture agreement with MMG Exploration Holdings.
 
Under the terms of the agreement, MMG acts as manager of the joint venture.

“The joint venture with MMG has brought very material technical and financial resources to bear that will enable us to gain an understanding of the significance of these intersections and the potential for further high-grade discoveries at Ntaka Hill.”

IMX said MMG had advised that early results of recently completed down hole electro-magnetic survey work in NAD13-372 indicate the presence of a strong off-hole conductor, potentially indicative of further massive sulphide mineralisation.

Other, near-surface disseminated mineralisation inside the current resource model was also intersected, including:

–    7m at 0.45 per cent nickel and 0.07 per cent copper from 28m;

–    4.9m at 0.51 per cent nickel and 0.13 per cent copper from 148.1m; and

–    3m at 0.43 per cent nickel and 0.09 per cent copper from 173m.

Outside of the current resource model, in addition to the intersection of 13.65m at 3.46 per cent nickel and 0.62 per cent copper, 19m at 0.61 per cent nickel and 0.19 per cent copper from 395m was intersected.

The existing Mineral Resource Estimate at Ntaka Hill consists of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 20.3 million tonnes at 0.58 per cent nickel and 0.13 per cent copper for 117,880 tonnes of contained nickel and Inferred Mineral Resources of 35.9 million tonnes at 0.66 per cent nickel and 0.14 per cent copper for 238,500 tonnes of contained nickel.

Email:
nmeadows@imxres.com.au

Website:
www.imxres.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: St George Mining (ASX: SGQ ) has commenced a moving loop electro‐magnetic (MLEM) survey over high-priority nickel targets situated along the Stella Range Ultramafic Belt at the company’s East Laverton property in the North Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.

The MLEM survey will be carried out over the Cambridge prospect and has been designed to assess prospective zones of the Cambridge dunite body that were not included in the scope of a initial FLEM (fixed loop electro ‐ magnetic) survey the company commenced earlier this week.

The MLEM survey areas at Cambridge, which cover the basal contact on
the western and eastern margins of the dunite body. Source: Company
announcementSt George considers these areas to be prospective for massive sulphide mineralisation.

The company has identified the north‐east corner of the dunite body as one area of particular interest where an EM anomaly was detected on the basal contact by a historical MLEM survey.

This area was previously part of the Project Dragon farm ‐ in arrangement with BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) and the EM conductor has yet to be tested.

The MLEM survey will also investigate a priority area of the Stella Range Ultramafic Belt that was shown to host primary nickel sulphides by drilling completed in 2012.

Disseminated nickel sulphides intersections included:

18 metres ta 0.4 per cent nickel, including 4 metres at 0.57 per cent nickel and 2 metres at 0.51 per cent nickel; and

6m at 0.48 per cent nickel, including 2m at 0.62 per cent nickel.

Further mineralisation of 2m at 1.08 per cent nickel was also encountered, which St George interpreted to be a ‘tectonic‐slice’ of mineralised ultramafic, preserved by intense silicification.

“It is likely that this raft of ultramafic has a local source, implying that a larger mineralised ultramafic unit may be proximally situated to [previous drilling results] DDNRC002,” St George said in its ASX announcement.

“The three occurrences of nickel sulphide mineralisation over a 12 kilometre strike of high manganese oxide ultramafic strongly support the potential for multiple mineralised systems to be present within this zone.

“The MLEM survey will be completed over this 12 kilometre priority zone to identify conductive anomalies that may represent massive sulphides.”

Email:
John.prineas@stgm.com.au

Website:
www.stgeorgemining.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Horseshoe Metals (ASX: HOR) has received results from drilling recently completed at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Horseshoe Lights copper/gold project in Western Australia.

The assay results are for two holes of an eight hole RC drilling program Horseshoe is conducting to test for copper mineralisation.

Both holes returned intersections of copper mineralisation.

 

Drill hole location plan. Source: Company announcement

 

The best intersection was recorded in hole RC1101 and returned:

–    32 metres (from 197m to 229m) at 1.8 per cent copper, including 12 metres (from 199m to 211m) at 2.8 per cent copper and 0.2 grams per tonne gold with a peak interval of 2 metres at 5.5 per cent copper and 0.3g/t gold.

A further 27m (from 239 to 266m) at 0.8 per cent copper, including 4m (from 239 to 243m) at 1.4 per cent copper was recorded, in addition to intermittent intervals of copper mineralisation to a depth of 299m down hole.

The second hole, RC1100, was collared 40m of RC1101, and recorded low grade (less than 2500ppm) copper mineralisation in broad zones from
46m to 299m depth interspersed with higher grade copper mineralisation.

The best result was:

–    11m (from 131 to 142m) at 0.8 per cent copper, including 5m (from 136 to 141m) at 1.3 per cent copper.

Whilst both RC1100 and RC1101 have been drilled down the interpreted dip of the copper mineralisation they have confirmed the potential for high-grade copper mineralisation to occur east of the existing deposit,” Horseshoe Metals said in its ASX announcement.

“Importantly this mineralised zone is generally open to the east and south with very limited historical drilling in the area.

“The company believes that additional drilling is warranted to test for further high-grade copper mineralisation in the footwall zone, which could contribute to an increase in the project’s mineral resource base.”

Horseshoe Metals said the results have confirmed potential for further high-grade copper/gold mineralisation in the footwall zone east of the existing open pit.

This zone is largely untested and follow-up drilling is planned for this area.

The company intends to conduct a Down Hole Electromagnetic survey on selected holes from this drill program.

Email
nam@horseshoemetals.com.au

Website
www.horseshoemetals.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Middle Island Resources (ASX: MDI) has received further encouraging reverse circulation percussion (RC) drill results from the K4/K5 prospect on the company’s Reo gold project in Burkina Faso.

Middle Island said the latest results had defined a broad, 2.5 kilometre long, open ended zone of continuous gold mineralisation lying along the southeast margin of the K4/K5 anomaly, referred to as the Madi Shear, which the company considers to represent a major resource target.

Recent RC drilling intercepts include:

–    16 metres at 1.95 grams per tonne gold;

–    13m at 2.19g/t gold; and

–    10m at 3.47g/t gold.

Middle Island said these results complement previously reported RAB, aircore, RC and diamond drilling intercepts and have confirmed the company’s primary focus for further aircore and RC pattern drilling of the K4/K5 anomaly.

 

RAB, aircore, RC and diamond drilling results returned from the
K4/K5 prospect, with new RC intercepts highlighted in yellow. Source:
Company announcement

 

“We are becoming increasingly confident that drilling at the K4/K5 prospect during the 2012-13 field season supports an exploration target that is more than adequate to achieve the company’s minimum 1.1 to 1.2 million ounce ‘stand-alone’ project objective,” Middle Island Resources managing director Rick Yeates said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The work also demonstrates the potential for at least an additional four, higher grade, satellite deposits within the larger K4/K5 target area to compliment that previously identified at the Morley prospect, 20 kilometres to the north.

“We now have the confidence necessary to embark on a major resource definition aircore and RC drilling campaign at the K4/K5 prospect during the 2013-14 field season as funds permit.

“While it appears that the grade of mineralisation along the main Madi Zone is lower than ideal for a conventional CIL operation, the indicative metallurgy completed in the 2013 March quarter generated exceptional recoveries of 93 per cent, 97 per cent and 95 per cent in oxide, transitional and primary material respectively.

“This provides the opportunity to investigate heap leaching as a possible lower capital cost development alternative that will also be assessed during the 2013-14 field season.”

info@middleisland.com.au

www.middleisland.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Balamara Resources (ASX: BMB) has released copper and lead Exploration Targets for the company’s Bogdan copper project, located in south-west Poland.

The initial copper Exploration Target has come in at:

5.5 million tonnes to 19 million tonnes at grade range 0.5 per cent to 0.6 per cent copper and 15.5 grams per tonne to 19 grams per tonne silver, including a smaller higher grade zone of 7.5 million tonnes to 9.2 million tonnes at grade range 0.65 per cent to 0.8 per cent copper and 17g/t to 20g/t silver.

A lead Exploration Target has been defined at:

14 million tonnes to 17.5 million tonnes at grade range 0.9 per cent to 1.1 per cent lead, 0.3 to 0.4 per cent copper and 10g/t to 13.5g/t silver, including a smaller higher grade zone of 2.6 million tonnes at 2 to 2.5 per cent lead, 0.35 to 0.45 per cent copper and 18.9g/t to 20g/t silver.

 

Bogdan concession showing holes, zone of mineralisation as well as the zone of interest for Balamar Source: Company announcement

 

“We have only drilled a few holes to date into a substantial 42 square kilometre area, and we now have an exploration target of considerable tonnage within the most likely target zone for copper,” Balamara Resources managing director Mike Ralston said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

Balamara is targeting an extension to an adjacent orebody which has been mined by KGHM for the past 40 years.

The company pointed out that KGHM does generally mine a higher grade material than indicated in the new exploration targets.

Balamara’s higher grade zone copper exploration target is more consistent with KGHM’s lower grade material mined, however the company considers it to be close to what might be considered feasible, especially if associated with any higher grade pocket located nearby.

“We have consistently located mineralisation throughout this concession with every hole drilled, and we are certainly getting better results for each hole as we progress, with the latest Hole B7 delivering a very credible 1.27 per cent copper and 44 grams per tonne silver over 0.5 metres, which is close to the mineralisation which KGHM is mining next door, both by location and by grade,” Ralston said.

Balamara said it has a number of options to consider regarding the progress of the Bogdan project.

These options include securing a joint venture partner to progress the next phase of exploration at Bogdan.

Other options include Balamara continuing exploration in its own right subject to the outcome of ongoing discussions regarding non-core asset sales.

“We believe the Bogdan concession may have significant value, but we need to be mindful of how we unlock this value moving forward after taking into account the available cash within the Company and the other Projects we are also developing within Balamara,” Ralston said.

enquiries@balamara.com.au

www.balamara.com.au