Focus
Minerals Limited (ASX: FML)
OUTSTANDINGHIGH-GRADE NICKEL INTERCEPTS ENHANCE NEPEAN
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
KEY
POINTS
·
RC drilling confirms exciting
potential of Nepean
Nickel Project with outstanding near-surface results including 3m @ 12.53% Ni , 1m @ 11.41% Ni and 3m @ 9.93% Ni.
·
Further confirmation of the
excellent potential of the Nepean
Nickel Project to contain a substantial, high-grade and shallow nickel
resource.
·
High-grade ore position potentially
accessible from the proposed portal position, offering potential for strong
early cash flow on commencement of mining.
·
Trial mining at Nepean began this month and is expected to
be self funding.
·
Bankable Feasibility Study nearing
completion.
|
Western Australian
nickel and gold company, Focus Minerals Ltd (ASX: FML) is pleased to report further outstanding results from a recently completed program of
shallow step-out and in-fill drilling to the south of the Company’s
100%-owned Nepean Nickel Mine,
located 25km south of Coolgardie in Western Australia.
The results
– from drilling carried out as part of the current Feasibility Study on
re-commissioning the Nepean Mine – provide further confirmation of the
excellent potential of the Nepean Nickel Project to contain a substantial, high-grade and shallow nickel resource
as indicated by previously announced drill results including 6m @ 7.44% Ni.
Significant
intersections from the recent drilling include:
6m @ 2.82% Ni from 53m;
3m @ 9.93% Ni from 49m;
1m @ 3.18% Ni
from 59m;
4m @ 6.63% Ni from 46m;
1m @ 11.41% Ni from 54m;
3m @ 12.53% Ni from 37m; and
4m @ 2.76% Ni from 38m.
The current
drilling program, comprising 13 Reverse Circulation (RC) holes for a total of
737m (detailed in Table 1), focused on an area approximately 50m to the south
of known remnant ore blocks at Nepean and was designed to test for shallow
strike extensions of the remnant ore blocks with the potential to be directly
accessible from the proposed portal position for decline development from the
surface.
These outstanding
intersections, dominantly hosted within fresh basalt, have confirmed that a
shoot of high-grade nickel extends to the south from known remnant ore. Due to
its proximity to surface, this ore will be easily accessible –
significantly enhancing the potential for early cash flow from the proposed
decline.
In addition, the
style of mineralisation is very similar to a number of other Komatiitic nickel
mines around the Kambalda Dome, increasing the near-mine prospectivity for
similar high-grade, high-value nickel shoots.
The Nepean Nickel
Mine produced 32,303 tonnes of nickel metal between 1970 and 1987 at a
recovered grade of 2.99% nickel from 1.1Mt of ore. However, while centred on the historical mine, Focus
Minerals’ Nepean Nickel Project also incorporates a 30km strike length of
Kambalda-style nickel sulphide mineralisation.
The Company has
recently re-commissioned the Nepean Project to initially extract remnant
mineralized ore. A Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) on full scale mining of
this project, including the evaluation of a decline to lower levels, is due to
be completed this month.
A program of trial
mining has recently commenced to extract remnant ore initially from the 6 Level
(approximately 190 metres below surface). This program is expected to be self
funding and will enable Focus to acquire further information about mining
conditions before commencing development of a decline to access previously
untapped ore and provide for mining from the lower levels.
Last year, the
Company upgraded the Nepean
resource by 45% to 591,000t @ 2.2% Ni, following a re-assessment and
re-modelling of transitional, fresh and remnant mineralisation at the mine.
Commenting on the
latest results, Focus’ Managing Director, Mr Peter
Williams, said: “These latest intersections are highly
encouraging and significantly enhance the development potential of Nepean, where we began
trial mining for remnant ore earlier this month.
“We were
confident of the potential to delineate additional high-grade ore positions
close to surface, but these results have far and away exceeded even our own
expectations,” he added. “Combined with the commencement of gold
production this month at Perseverance, this is a very exciting time for the
Company.”
Table 1 – RC Drill Results
Drill
Hole
|
Northing
|
Easting
|
AZI
|
Inc
|
Depth(m)
|
From
|
To
|
Ni
%
|
|
NP084500-1
|
4500
|
960
|
90
|
-60
|
60
|
52
|
53
|
1.52
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
58
|
59
|
1.34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084490-1
|
4490
|
960
|
90
|
-60
|
62
|
53
|
59
|
6m@2.82
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084480-1
|
4480
|
960
|
90
|
-60
|
60
|
49
|
52
|
3m@9.93
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
53
|
54
|
1.65
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084480-2
|
4490
|
950
|
90
|
-60
|
75
|
59
|
60
|
3.18
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084470-1
|
4470
|
960
|
90
|
-60
|
65
|
46
|
50
|
4m@6.63
|
Including
2m@12.1% Ni
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
54
|
55
|
11.41
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Drill
Hole
|
Northing
|
Easting
|
AZI
|
Inc
|
Depth(m)
|
From
|
To
|
Ni
%
|
|
NP084470-2
|
4470
|
970
|
90
|
-60
|
60
|
37
|
40
|
3m@12.53
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084460-1
|
4460
|
960
|
90
|
-60
|
55
|
N/S
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084460-2
|
4460
|
970
|
90
|
-60
|
47
|
38
|
42
|
4m@2.76
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084450-1
|
4450
|
965
|
90
|
-60
|
50
|
N/S
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084450-2
|
4450
|
975
|
90
|
-60
|
40
|
N/S
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP4450-1
|
4450
|
970
|
90
|
-60
|
60
|
32
|
38
|
6m@7.44
|
Previously
announced
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084440-1
|
4450
|
975
|
90
|
-60
|
40
|
N/S
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084420-1
|
4450
|
980
|
90
|
-60
|
35
|
N/S
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NP084400-1
|
4400
|
980
|
90
|
-60
|
35
|
N/S
|
|
|
|
ENDS
Released
by:
|
On
behalf of:
|
Nicholas Read/Jason
Cunningham
|
Don
Taig, Chairman
Peter Williams, Managing Director
|
Read Corporate
|
Focus Minerals Ltd
|
Telephone: (+61-8) 9388-1474
|
Telephone:
(+61-8) 9215-7888
|
www.readcorporate.com.au
|
Web: www.focusminerals.com.au
|
COMPETENT PERSON’S STATEMENT
The information
in this report relating to Resources and Reserves are based on work supervised
by Mr Chuck McCormick who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining
and Metallurgy (AusIMM). Mr McCormick has the relevant experience as a
“Competent Person” as defined in the 2004 edition of the
Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves in relation to the
mineralisation reported on. Mr McCormick is Exploration Manager of Focus
Minerals Ltd and consents to the inclusion of the material in the form and
content in which it appears.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION – FOCUS MINERALS LTD
Focus Minerals Ltd (ASX: FML) is an Australian-based exploration and
development group whose focus is to become a significant gold and nickel
producer in the Coolgardie-Kalgoorlie-Widgiemooltha region of Western Australia.
Focus Minerals is the
largest landholder in the Coolgardie Gold Belt located in Western Australia,
560km east of Perth and 35km west of the ‘Super Pit’ in
Kalgoorlie-Boulder. More than 2.6 million ounces of gold has been produced from
the Coolgardie gold belt alone since 1892. Focus holds the mineral rights to
more than 210sq km of tenements including Measured, Indicated and Inferred
Resources exceeding 1.65 million ounces of gold as well as the 1.2mtpa Three
Mile Hill processing plant.
Focus Minerals is also
fast tracking development of its wholly-owned Nepean Nickel Project (current
estimated resource totalling 591,300t @ 2.2% Ni) located 25km south of
Coolgardie. Focus has a view of recommencing mining operations from the
historic production centre in 2008.
READ CORPORATE
Public
Relations Corporate Communications
T: (+61-8) 9388-1474 | F: (+61-8) 9388-1472 | E: info@readcorporate.com.au | Web: www.readcorporate.com.au
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