Focus Minerals Limited (ASX: FML)

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

ENDS

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.

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