Talga draws big graphite hits from first drilling in Sweden

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Talga Gold (ASX:TLG) has completed its stage 1 diamond drilling program at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Nunasvaara graphite project in northern Sweden.

The 19 hole diamond drilling program was Talga’s first drill test at Nunasvaara and was designed to upgrade the size and status of this high-grade graphite resource.

 

Location map of Talga’s graphite projects and established transport infrastructure in northern Sweden. Source: Company announcement

 

The company said the drilling intersected graphite over approximately 1,200 metres length strike and to vertical extent of 140 metres depth, remaining open at depth and along strike.

Less than eight per cent of the greater Nunasvaara graphite unit has been drill tested to date, with Talga having recently commenced exploration of the remaining 15 kilometres of strike length.

The company has now received assay results from all 19 drill holes of this program.

Significant downhole graphite results were returned from every hole drilled.

Results include:

–    24.8 metres at 24.9 per cent graphite;

–    25.7m at 21.4 per cent graphite;

–    30.3m at 28.7 per cent graphite, including 26.3m at 30.2 per cent graphite;

–    40.2m at 28.2 per cent graphite, including 26m at 30.5 per cent graphite;

–    28.8m at 25.4 per cent graphite, including 4m at 30.8 per cent graphite;

–    33m at 19.9 per cent graphite, including 4.7m at 31.9 per cent graphite;

–    36.7m at 26 per cent graphite, including 18m at 30.4 per cent graphite;

–    24.3m at 22.5 per cent graphite; and

–    9.8m at 32.9 per cent graphite.

“The results are particularly pleasing for us as they having confirmed what the historical information indicated, and have even exceeded our expectations in some high-grade zones,” Talga Gold managing director Mark Thompson said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

Talga said it intends using the results to update the size and status of the current JORC code-compliant inferred mineral resource of 3.6 million tonnes at 23 per cent graphite and commence a preliminary economic Scoping Study in Q4.

“We are confident the upcoming resource estimate to be compiled on Nunasvaara will reach our target of 20 year mine life potential and our work program continues towards the goal of near term production,” Thompson said.

“The confirmation and expansion of this resource is but the first of several graphite deposits we expect to develop in Sweden.

“We recognise several significant opportunities within the mineral endowment of the projects, which will add value to our Australian gold assets.

“It is encouraging to see this becoming more recognised in the capital markets recently, reflecting our continued growth.”

Further drilling for geotechnical/pit wall studies or infill to obtain a higher resource status of the resource will be undertaken as required.

Pit optimisation studies are planned to commence in November before the preliminary economic study in December.