Northern Minerals increases Browns Range HRE Resource

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Northern Minerals (ASX: NTU) has increased the JORC-compliant, heavy rare earths (HRE) mineral resource estimate for the company’s Browns Range project in northern Australia.

The total Mineral Resource at the Browns Range project is now estimated at 6.48 million tonnes at 0.74 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) comprising 47,997,000 kilograms (47,997 tonnes) contained TREO using a cut-off grade of 0.15 per cent TREO.

At the Wolverine deposit the Total Mineral Resource is now estimated at 4.46 million tonnes at 0.86 per cent TREO comprising 38,269 tonnes TREO using a cut-off grade of 0.15 per cent TREO, representing a 107 per cent increase.

 

Browns Range project – Location and geology of Mineral Resource. Source: Company announcement

 

Northern Minerals said the upgrade marks a 71 per cent increase in contained tonnes of TREO (of 19,913tonnes TREO) from the Mineral Resource estimate at Browns Range the company announced in October 2013.

The company said that of the Total Mineral Resource, 66 per cent is classified as Indicated, with the remainder in the Inferred category.

“This result takes Browns Range to the next level and reinforces the project as one of the world’s most exciting new sources of dysprosium and yttrium,” Northern Minerals managing director George Bauk said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Today’s resource upgrade is at the upper end of our exploration target range, and reflects the outstanding results from our major drilling programs in the second half of 2013.

The company believes it has now built a resource sufficient enough to underpin a potential mining operation at Browns Range.

“Our pre-feasibility study (PFS) is progressing well, and we will now be working to incorporate this latest resource data into our models and complete the PFS by mid-year,” Bauk said.

“We have now built a solid mineral inventory which we expect will provide a very robust mining operation and mine life.

“The latest resource upgrade continues our great progress in the development of Browns Range.

“In December 2012 we released our maiden resource of 10,500 tonnes TREO, and since then have increased this resource by some 350 per cent, and put ourselves on the path to production by 2016.”
 

Email: info@northernminerals.com.au

Website: www.northernminerals.com.au