Perth, June 4, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Perth based Northern Mining Limited (ASX:NMI) has today signed a Heads of Agreement with KGHM Polska Miedz S.A.,(PINK:KGHMF) one of the world's largest copper and silver producers, to drive the development of a Feasibility Study into the Szklary nickel deposit (Szklary) in Poland.
Highlights:
- NMI (2 concessions) and KGHM (1 concession) cover majority of known extent of the ultramafic body
- Agreement signed to jointly assess the feasibility of re-developing Szklary
- Polish Government owns 42% of global top ten copper and silver producer, KGHM
- KGHM market capitalisation US$10 billion
- KGHM's "Polish Copper" Lubin copper mining complex began operations in 1961
- Lubin produces >500,000t refined copper and 38Moz silver per annum
NMI has an 80% interest in GEPCO which holds two concessions over Szklary. It is a lateritic style deposit situated close to existing infrastructure being some 30 kilometres north east of the city of Klodzko and four kilometres from the town of Zabkowice Slaskie, in the Lower Silesia province in southwest Poland.
Szklary, developed on the Szklary Ultramafic body, is subdivided into three mineralised zones (Figure 1). NMI's two concessions are granted over the northern, southern and a portion of the middle zone, whilst KGHM has a concession granted over a portion of the middle zone. The deposit has been previously mined, with records of open pit mining undertaken from 1955 to 1983, showing that approximately 20,000 tonnes of nickel was produced from 2.9Mt at a recovered grade of 0.68% Ni.
Commenting on the Agreement, Executive Chairman Alan Lockett said:
"This agreement is a significant milestone for NMI shareholders as it provides exposure to the robust nickel market at a time when steel processing is creating unprecedented demand. Attracting a partner the size and scale of KGHM is a major achievement and we look forward to a long term relationship with KGHM focussing on the development of the Szklary Nickel Project".
Managing Director Craig Dawson noted that:
"KGHM has a long history in Poland and its exceptional technical capabilities will bring a serious commercial and technical benefit to the project. We are focussed on bringing Szklary into production in a timely manner and are confident there is significant upside to the historical mineral inventory".
Recent NMI Drilling Results:
In December 2007, a preliminary diamond drilling programme aimed at confirming historical nickel grades (refer NMI release to the ASX on 03 March 2007) was completed by NMI at Szklary. Ten diamond drill holes were completed for a total advance of ~500 metres. Holes were drilled in close proximity to historical drill holes or prospecting shafts with ~ 400 samples submitted to the Polish Geological Survey Assay Laboratory in Warsaw. Of the samples submitted, 50 duplicate samples were submitted to the ALS laboratory in Perth for further assessment.
NMI's recent assay results indicate that on a global basis the intercept widths and grades are broadly in line with those recorded in the historical database. A summary of the results from the latest drilling program is provided in Table 1.
Table 1: Summary of Recent Assay Results, Szklary Nickel Project, Poland
-----------------------------------------------------------Hole From To Intercept Ni Assay CommentsNumber (m) (m) (mdh)* (%)** -----------------------------------------------------------S1 5.0 18.0 13.0 0.55 incl 0.4m @ 1.83%NiS2 4.0 9.0 5.0 0.51 S2 11.7 15.0 3.3 1.19 incl 2.3m @ 1.41%NiS2 22.0 26.0 4.0 0.42 S4 0.0 11.0 11.0 0.90 incl 3.0m @ 1.59%NiB1 19.4 25.0 5.6 0.60 B2 14.6 15.8 1.2 0.35 B3 14.0 30.4 16.4 1.35 incl 6.8m @ 1.66%Ni and 6.0m @ 1.61%NiB4 14.0 30.0 16.0 1.00 incl 5.0m @ 1.78%NiB5 30.0 38.0 8.0 0.44 B6 22.0 24.0 2.0 1.72 -----------------------------------------------------------
* All holes were drilled vertically into an interpreted flat lying deposit, such that downhole intercept lengths can be deemed to be true width intersections
** Assay results are length weighted averages using a 0.3% Ni cut off
Overview of KGHM Polska Miedz S.A.
KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. (KGHM) - commonly referred to as "Polish Copper" - was established in 1961 as a state enterprise. In 1991 the company was transformed into a joint stock company and its shares have traded on the Warsaw and London Stock Exchanges since 1997. The Polish Government holds a 42% shareholding in KGHM.
KGHM's principal activities are the mining and refining of copper ore, reclamation of metals included in copper ore, copper metallurgy and processing and production of copper, silver and other non-ferrous metals. KGHM produces for the domestic market in Poland and for export, mainly to Germany, France, China, Czech Republic, Great Britain and Belgium.
KGHM's operations are centred on the city of Lubin, South West Poland. The operations consist of three mines, two copper smelters, a wire rod plant and auxiliary units which support the core business. The KGHM group mines 30 million tonnes of copper ore per year and employs approximately 28,000 people to produce 530 thousand tonnes of refined copper and 1,100 tonnes of silver. (In comparison, in the 9 months to end March 2008, BHP's Olympic Dam produced 112,400t refined copper and 601,000oz silver).
In the 2007 year, KGHM reported a profit of PLN 3.80 billion ($US1.55 billion) on the back of Revenues of PLN 12.18 billion ($US4.98 billion). Operating cash flows generated for 2007 were PLN 4.46 billion (US$1.03 billion) as at 31 December 2007.
The information above regarding KGHM was sourced from various reports on the KGHM website at www.kghm.pl and edited by KGHM. Conversion from the Polish Zloty (PLN) to US$ was made at the exchange rate of 0.409 US dollar to 1 Polish Zloty - which was the prevailing exchange rate on 31 December 2007.
Note:
The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results is based on information supplied to and compiled by Mr M. Elias, who is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Elias is employed by CSA Australia Pty Ltd and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Mr Elias consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Contact
Email admin@northernmining.com.au
Website www.northernmining.com.au
Telephone (08) 9244 8499
Facsimile (08) 9244 3166
| ||
|
