Image Resources Confirms Grade Extensions at Boonanarring

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Image Resources (ASX: IMA) has confirmed a 5.6 kilometre extension of high-grade mineralisation associated with the company’s Boonanarring mineral sands deposit in Western Australia.

Image Resources describe Boonanarring is being arguably the highest grade, high-zircon undeveloped mineral sand deposit in Australia.

The recent drill program was located within a road reserve on the Quinns Hill tenement (E70/3100), consisting ten drill holes designed to test the extension of the high-grade eastern strand of the Boonanarring mineral sand deposit, adjacent to and to the west of the Brand Highway.

The design of the program was based on an extrapolation of previous drilling by Image and limited historic drilling by Iluka.

Previous reported drilling by Image on the southwest side of the Brand Highway included results of 8 metres at 21.6 per cent heavy minerals (HM) from 38m in drill hole IM0083; and 14m at 17.9 per cent HM from 40m in drill hole IX00103.

Hole IX00250 of the current program commenced on the eastern edge of the Brand Highway and contains 8m at 16.3 per cent HM.

Image said the high-grade mineralisation is present on the western edge of the Brand Highway.

Further results include:

IX00244
8m at 21.1 per cent HM from 23m; and

IX00245
8m at 23.8 per cent HM from 27m.

“The extraordinary high-grade results of this current drilling program north of Boonanarring have the potential to add significantly to the company’s inventory of high-grade mineral sand deposits in the North Perth Basin,” Image Resources executive exploration director George Sakalidis said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The company has also shown that the Boonanarring deposit is significant in size, as this drilling shows potential to be larger than 18.8 kilometres in length, with further upside potential both to the north and south.”

The company claimed the confirmation of the extension from results achieved during a recent drilling program undertaken at Boonanarring, where it is currently in the final stages of a Bankable Feasibility Study.

Image said it is planning to develop the project with a goal of first production in early 2018.

The Boonanarring deposit has estimated mineral resources of 43.8 million tonnes at 5.6 per cent HM with 18.1 per cent of the HM as high value zircon and with 72 per cent of the HM as valuable heavy minerals (VHM).

The area containing the current mineral resources at Boonanarring stretches 13.2km to the south on the east side of Brand highway.

The new drilling results confirm the high-grade mineralisation extends to the north on the west side of the Brand highway for an additional 5.6km.

“The results of the recent drilling program are extremely positive given the company’s current drive to move the company to first production at Boonanarring in early 2018,” Image Resources managing director Patrick Mutz said.

“The upside potential of additional high-grade mineralisation within pumping distance of the planned location of the wet concentrator plant at Boonanarring could add significant value to the project.”

Website: www.imageres.com.au