Major Increase in JORC Resources From Yangibana Drilling
Sydney, July 24, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Additional assay results have been received from Hastings Technology Metals Limited's (
ASX:HAS) 2017 drilling programme at Yangibana. These results are from the western extension to the current JORC Resources at Bald Hill, following up on results released to the ASX on 7th June 2017; from the Yangibana West deposit; and from the Auer and Auer North deposits.
HIGHLIGHTS
- New JORC Resource Estimation incorporating recent drilling results
- Total diluted resources now 17.02 million tonnes at 1.27% total rare earths oxide (TREO) including 0.41% neodymium plus praseodymium oxides (Nd2O3+Pr6O11)
- This represents a 37% increase in contained TREO and a 32% increase in contained Nd2O3+Pr6O11 from the December 2016 resource estimate.
- Additional assay results received from drilling into the western extension of the Bald Hill deposit
- Best intersections include:-
o 4m at 3.11%TREO including 1.14% Nd2O3+Pr6O11
o 4m at 2.87%TREO including 1.12% Nd2O3+Pr6O11
- First assays received from drilling at Yangibana West deposit
- Best intersections include:-
o 7m at 2.61%TREO including 0.67% Nd2O3+Pr6O11
o 7m at 2.26%TREO including 0.60% Nd2O3+Pr6O11, and
- First assays received from drilling at Auer and Auer North
- Best intersections include:-
o 8m at 2.36%TREO including 0.94% Nd2O3+Pr6O11
o 10m at 2.21%TREO including 0.74% Nd2O3+Pr6O11
INTRODUCTION
Each of these deposits occur within tenements controlled 100% by Hastings, with Bald Hill and Yangibana West within granted Mining Leases.
These results are now incorporated in an updated JORC resource estimate completed by independent consultant Lynn Widenbar, Principal of Widenbar and Associates. These new resources indicate a major increase in overall resource tonnes, with a 37% increases in the tonnes of contained total rare earths oxides (TREO) and a 32% increase in the tonnes of contained neodymium and praseodymium oxides. This Resource Estimation will feed into pit optimisations and the various mining studies that are part of the Company's Definitive Feasibility Study. The combined Measured plus Indicated Resources have increased to over 10.1 million tonnes, with almost 5.8 million tonnes occurring in the Eastern Belt (Bald Hill and Fraser's) - that is the focus of metallurgical testwork and process design. Continuing metallurgical testwork is being carried out on Western Belt-style mineralisation (Yangibana West and Yangibana North) to identify plant refinements required to treat this material.
The ongoing drilling programme aims to increase the Measured plus Indicated Resources of Eastern Belt-style mineralisation, with relatively untested targets at Yangibana, Yangibana South, Simon's Find, and Terry's Find, and further expansion drilling at Bald Hill and Auer/Auer North.
JULY 2017 JORC RESOURCES
Please see the link below for the new total diluted resources.
These resources occur in a number of deposits as shown in Figure 1 (see the link below). The resources incorporate dilution based on 0.5m beyond both the footwall and the hanging wall to the mineralisation. Average dilution over the total resources is 27%.
The total resources comprise the following deposits that will be assessed as future mining areas during the Definitive Feasibility Study process.
Eastern Belt - 100% Hastings
The following deposits are within the Eastern Belt and are held 100% by Hastings (see the link below for tables).
- Bald Hill
- Bald Hill Southeast
- Fraser's
- Fraser's North and Southwest
- Auer and Auer North
Western Belt - 100% Hastings
The Yangibana West deposit lies at the western end of the Western Belt and is held 100% by Hastings.
- Yangibana West (see the link below for the table)
- Western Belt - 70% Hastings
The Yangibana North deposit occurs within the Western Belt, being contiguous with Yangibana West, and Hastings holds a 70% interest in this deposit.
- Yangibana North (see the link below for the table)
In addition, the following inferred resources have been estimated from the limited drilling between Gossan and Kane's Gossan, also in the Western Belt.
- Gossan, Lion's Ear, Hook and Kane's Gossan (see the link below for the table)
Comparison with most recent estimate
The updated resources of 17.02 million tonnes at 1.27% TREO including 0.41% Nd2O3+Pr6O11 represent a significant increase and upgrade compared to the December 2016 resource estimate which stood at 13.4 million tonnes at 1.18% TREO including 0.39% Nd2O3+Pr6O11 .
Significantly, the contained TREO has increased to 216,000 tonnes, a 37% increase on the December 2016 estimate of 157,950 tonnes, and contained Nd2O3+Pr6O11 has increased to 68,900 tonnes, a 32% increase on the December 2016 estimate of 52,400 tonnes. This indicates a substantial increase in the value of each tonne of resource in the ground.
DRILLING RESULTS
The 2017 Drilling Programme is continuing with holes now testing prospects outside the current resources including Yangibana and Simon's Find. Results will be released in the near future. Locations of all holes drilled to date during this programme are shown in Figure 1 (see the link below).
Significant additional results received from Bald Hill are shown in Table 1 (see the link below).
These results are all from holes drilled into the western extension to the current JORC Resources at Bald Hill (see Figure 2 in the link below), as identified in the ASX announcement dated 7th June 2017. They continue to support the potential for an extension to the Bald Hill pit as envisaged in the Pre-Feasibility Study.
Drillhole parameters are provided in Appendix 1 and detailed assays are provided in Appendix 2 (see the link below).
First results from Yangibana West are shown in Table 2 (see the link below).
These holes were all drilled to extend the current Indicated Resources at Yangibana West, with holes YWRC69 and 70 towards the eastern end of the deposit and YWRCs72-74 towards the western end (see Figure 3 in the link below). Results, particularly at the western end, are encouraging and the mineralisation remains strongly open at depth.
Drillhole parameters are provided in Appendix 3 and detailed assays are provided in Appendix 4 (see the link below).
First results from Auer and Auer North are shown in Table 3 (see the link below).
Only limited drilling has been carried out so far this year at Auer (see Figure 4 in the link below) and Auer North (see Figure 5 in the link below), with those holes completed mainly being infill to the defined Inferred Resources. AURC50 is an isolated hole testing a new target at the northern extremity of the Auer deposit, identified by mapping and sampling earlier this year. The intersection in this hole provides encouragement for further drilling in this area to increase resources.
Drillhole parameters are provided in Appendix 5 and detailed assays are provided in Appendix 6 (see the link below).
TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS REPORT
TREO is the sum of the oxides of the light rare earth elements lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), and samarium (Sm) and the heavy rare earth elements europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu), and yttrium (Y).
To view tables and figures, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/8T5HY17G
About Hastings Technology Metals Ltd
Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX:HAS) (FRA:5AM) is advancing its Yangibana Rare Earths Project in the Upper Gascoyne Region of Western Australia towards production. The proposed beneficiation and hydro metallurgy processing plant will treat rare earths deposits, predominantly monazite, hosting high neodymium and praseodymium contents to produce a mixed rare earths carbonate that will be further refined into individual rare earth oxides at processing plants overseas.
Neodymium and praseodymium are vital components in the manufacture of permanent magnets which is used in a wide and expanding range of advanced and high-tech products including electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, medical applications and others. Hastings aims to become the next significant producer of neodymium and praseodymium outside of China.
Hastings holds 100% interest in the most significant deposits within the overall project, and 70% interest in additional deposits that will be developed at a later date, all held under Mining Leases. Numerous prospects have been identified warranting detailed exploration to further extend the life of the project.
Brockman Project
The Brockman deposit, near Halls Creek in Western Australia, contains JORC Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources, estimated using the guidelines of JORC Code (2012 Edition).
The Company is also progressing a Mining Lease application over the Brockman Rare Earths and Rare Metals Project.
Hastings aims to capitalise on the strong demand for critical rare earths created by the expanding demand for new technology products.
| ||
|
