On 20 June 2008
Union Resources Limited (�Union� or �the Company�) announced that it
had acquired a Namibian company, Sea Phosphates (Namibia) Pty Limited
(�SPL�), which holds two Exclusive Prospecting Licences nos. 3414 and
3415 (�the EPLs�) issued by the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy
for Phosphates and Precious Stones.
In the
announcement, Union advised that it intends to confirm the drilling
results previously obtained by Gencor in respect of the EPLs, and
that an analysis of the previous exploration and assay data is
currently being conducted by an independent expert to bring it up to
the standards required by the JORC Code. The Company further advised
that it anticipated this data to be available within the next two
months.
Progress to date
� Union�s re-analysis of the previous exploration and assay data has been
completed. Pending recovery of certain original documentation from
the original sampling including original assay returns and survey
data, the data will be published. Union is still in the process of
recovering these. In the event that this proves difficult, a
sub-program of confirmatory sampling is planned.
� A review of the previous work has been
undertaken by Prayon, a Belgian company recognised as a leader in
Phosphoric acid technology. Prayon has confirmed that the Sandpiper
material produces acceptable Merchant Grade Acid without significant
modification of standard phosphoric acid circuits. A tendency to foam
is controlled and improved filtration characteristics are achieved by
addition of flocculants and crystal habit modifiers that will not add significantly to operating costs. This
indicates that the material should be marketable.
� Unionhas entered into a Memorandum of Understanding
(�MOU�) with Jan de Nul, a major Belgian dredging company to
undertake work on the submarine recovery of phosphate material from
the Sandpiper deposit. Jan de Nul has indicated that it is
technically feasible to recover the material and under the terms of
the MOU Jan de Nul will undertake the preliminary economic evaluation
of the dredging operation at its own cost. In return, Union has
agreed to give Jan de Nul priority on any dredging contracts for
Sandpiper, subject to normal competitive bidding processes.
� Unionis evaluating various strategic options
to ensure maximum value and security for the Sandpiper Project.
Details will be released if and when the opportunities are realised.
� Unioncontinues its evaluation of the
technical and economic viability of the Project. This work falls into
3 major areas - recovery from the sea floor, shipping to land, and
land-based handling upgrading of run of mine material to saleable
rock phosphate. To date Union has progressed as follows:
o Submarine recovery � Union has entered into
an MOU with Jan De Nul as referred to above. It is clear that the
recovery of the material is technically feasible, and currently
Union�s management is optimistic that economic recovery will be
possible. Indications are that a 3 million dry ton per annum
production rate could be reasonably achieved in a 4 month dredging
campaign. This would allow optimisation of campaign timing to suit
the best weather. Initial indications are that between 230 to 270
operational days per annum would be available for dredging.
o Upgrading: The original samples provided to
Prayon were upgraded from approximately 17% P2O5
to 27% P2O5 by simple screening and
hydro-cycloneing. As part of the ongoing evaluation this will be
confirmed. Union also intends to evaluate whether this operation can
be conducted at sea.
o Unionhas started to model other land-based
costs based on the operational constraints of the marine operation.
This includes the material handling requirements, storage and working
capital requirements.