Malachite Resources NL today released a major resource upgrade for the Conrad Silver Project in an announcement to the ASX which can be viewed on our website by following this link:
http://www.malachite.com.au/pdf/asx/2008/MAR%20-%20ConradResourceUpgrade%2011August2008.pdf
HIGHLIGHTS
- Drilling at Conrad to the end of June has more than tripled the contained silver resource to 8.8 million ounces
- After adding the recoverable base metal credits, the resource estimate increases to a contained 17.7 million ounces of silver equivalent (?AgEQ?)
- Using a cut off grade of 300g/t AgEQ the global resource includes a higher grade component that contains 2.5 million ounces of silver equivalent
- This material increase in resources exceeds early expectations and augurs well for the future of the project
- Drilling is continuing and a further upgrade to resources is expected later this year
Malachite Resources NL (ASX: MAR & MAROA) advises that resource drilling at its 100% owned Conrad Silver Project, located near Inverell in NSW, has continued very successfully, allowing a new estimate of mineral resources that exceeds early expectations and strongly enhances the prospect of reopening the mine. Details of the resource estimate, which is based on drilling completed up to late June, 2008, are set out in Tables 1 and 2 below, and the Appendix contains a series of diagrams illustrating the resource relationships.
The new resource figures represent a major increase on the previously published results and include 8.8 million ounces of silver or 17.7 million ounces of silver equivalent. Most of the resource (77% based on AgEQ) is contained within the Conrad Lode, much of which has so far been drilled only at a wide spacing. Thus the contained resource within this lode is mainly in the Inferred category.
The figures for the Conrad and King Conrad Lodes in Table 1 have been prepared on the basis of a minimum mining width of 1.5m, regardless of grade. In addition, if a cut off grade of 300g/t AgEQ (or roughly 10 oz/t AgEQ) is also applied and retaining the 1.5m minimum width, a higher grade component emerges, amounting to 177,818 tonnes at 14.0 oz/t AgEQ, representing 2.5Moz of contained silver equivalent (Table 2). This higher grade resource is within both the King Conrad Lode and the Conrad Lode (see Figures 5 and 6).
Managing Director, Garry Lowder, commented, ?This new estimate is a major increase over the previous Conrad resource but is still only part of the story. Drilling since June has continued to intersect very encouraging mineralisation along strike and at depth, including a new style of silver-copper-tin rich mineralisation (not yet in the resource estimates) that seems to be a feature of the southeastern extremity of the area drilled so far.
?We have now outlined plenty of tonnes so the focus of drilling has changed to grade. We expect Conrad to be like most other lode type deposits, where the greater part of metal production comes from discrete shoots within a broader lode structure. Many of our existing holes have hit excellent grades that we interpret as indicative of such high grade shoots.
?For the most part our drilling density has not yet delineated these shoots sufficiently to enable their inclusion in the higher grade resource estimation, although the existing results have identified 178,000 tonnes at 14 oz/t AgEQ.
?Since so much of the metal at Conrad is contained within lodes less than 1 metre wide we need to look closely at specialised narrow vein mining methods that will optimise mining economics. Such methods are currently being used successfully for narrow vein mining operations in Australia and overseas.
?The next resource estimate, due later this year, should give us a much better feel for the amount and distribution of higher grade material within the global Conrad resource. Once we have that we can advance our plans for reopening the mine.?
Regards
Andrew J. Cooke
Company Secretary
Malachite Resources NL
Tel: +61 2 9411 6033
Fax: +61 2 9411 6066
Mob: 0412 090 826
Email: acooke@malachite.com.au
Website: www.malachite.com.au