Baobab Resources plc (LON:BAO) Expands Massamba Group Global Inventory to Over 265 Million Tonnes
London, Oct 31, 2011 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Baobab Resources plc (
LON:BAO) is an iron ore, base and precious metals explorer with a portfolio of exploration projects in Mozambique. The Company is pleased to present a resource update at the Massamba Group of its Tete iron / vanadium / titanium project.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Massamba Group global resource base expanded to 267Mt (JORC) with the completion of the Ruoni North resource estimate and Chitongue Grande resource update.
- Ruoni North 93Mt Inferred Resource reports a head grade of 35% Fe with an indicative average concentrate grade of 58% Fe, 0.8% V2O5 and 13% TiO2 at a mass recovery of 47%.
- Chitongue Grande Inferred Resource increased from 48Mt to 61Mt reporting a head grade of 25% Fe with an indicative average concentrate grade of 64% Fe, 0.7% V2O5 and 5% TiO2 at a mass recovery of 20%.
- Ruoni South drilling has defined broad packages of mineralisation delivering some of the best quality concentrate grades in the Massamba Group, including a consistently high grade of 1% V2O5. International consultancy, Coffey Mining, is on schedule to deliver a resource estimate by the end of November.
- The high mass recoveries recorded at the Ruoni North deposit means that it will yield more than double the concentrate per tonne of ore processed than its South Zone or Chitongue Grande counterparts.
- Scoping Study compilation at an advanced stage with preliminary results expected to become available during the latter half of November.
- Drilling is progressing steadily at Tenge, outlining substantial zones of strong mineralisation. First analytical results are expected during December.
Commenting from Mozambique today, Ben James, Baobab's Managing Director, said: "we started 2011 with a 48Mt resource and a 300Mt target. Ten months into the year and the global inventory is now sitting at more than a quarter of a billion tonnes with the high grade Ruoni South resource still to come in and Tenge beginning to flex its muscle. This would not have been accomplished without the unswerving dedication of our technical team in Mozambique.
"The Scoping Study is progressing at pace and is assessing development routes that will capitalise on the project's unique proximity to abundant coal and water resources and some of the lowest tariff hydro-power in Africa. Importantly these are the critical complementary resources for establishing a fully integrated iron and steel industry."
Resource Estimates
Internationally respected consultant, Coffey Mining Limited, has completed resource estimates based on the completed drilling programmes at Ruoni South and Chitongue Grande. Their estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources, including the South Zone estimate announced on 30 August 2011, are summarised below. All estimates have been compiled in accordance with the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code guidelines. Notes on estimation parameters are presented as Annexure 1 (see link at the bottom of the release).
In many areas the resource blocks remain open along strike and at depth, requiring extensional drilling programmes in 2012. Some areas of intersected mineralisation remain unclassified due to insufficient drilling density and will also require further drill definition.
The mineralised horizons contain internal partings of non-mineralised waste material which have not been sampled. Some of this material may not be preferentially mineable and would therefore act as a dilutant. Without sampling the intermediate waste partings, it has not been possible to predict what the expected weight recovery and recovered grades might be. However, based on the Davis Tube Recovery (DTR) results of the completed estimation, the expected average concentrate characteristics for the mineralised material are:
- Ruoni North: 58% Fe, 0.8% V2O5, 12.9% TiO2, 0.8% SiO2, 3.5% Al2O3, 0.001% P and 0.1% S at a Mass Recovery of 47%.
- Chitongue Grande: 64% Fe, 0.7% V2O5, 4.8% TiO2, 1.5% SiO2, 2.8% Al2O3, 0.001% P and 0.4% S at a Mass Recovery of 20%.
The weighted average concentrate characteristics for the global 267.3Mt Inferred Resource are 61% Fe, 0.7% V2O5, 9% TiO2, 1.2% SiO2, 3.2% Al2O3, 0.005% P and 0.3% S at a Mass Recovery of 31%.
The mineralisation is based on geologically defined zones and therefore reported accordingly; it is currently assumed that mining selectivity is limited within the mineralised zones. Three-dimensional block models were generated for the Chitongue Grande and Ruoni North deposits to enable grade estimation. Coffey Mining has based its grade interpolation on Ordinary Kriging. Grade was interpolated based on 4m composite samples using domain control for both composite and block selections applying hard boundaries between the zones. For the concentrate grades, a service variable approach to the estimation of block concentrate grades is required to account for the variation in the percent weight.
On-going Resource Drilling: Tenge/Ruoni Prospect
Tenge/Ruoni is the easternmost prospect area of the Massamba Group. Drilling at Tenge/Ruoni is progressing rapidly and has intersected a heavily mineralised package varying in thickness from 60m to 150m. Mineralisation has been synformally folded with the fold hinge plunging gently to the west-northwest. Exploration campaigns in the prospect area have been divided into three resource blocks:
- Ruoni North: representing 1km of strike along the northern limb of the fold. Thirty seven reverse circulation (RC) and diamond holes have been completed to date across seven traverses for an aggregate total of c.5,750m. Drilling has intersected a substantial package of mineralisation from surface dipping at 25 degree to 50 degree to the southwest.
- Ruoni South: representing 1.2km of strike along the southern limb of the fold. Twenty seven RC and diamond holes have been completed for an aggregate total of 5,200m. Mineralisation in the Ruoni South area is generally steeper dipping (c.65 degree to the north).
The average head grade of all Ruoni South significant intercepts reported to date is 30% Fe with the DTR concentrate grades reporting a weighted average of 63% Fe, 1% V2O5 and 6.4% TiO2 at a mass recovery of 27% (see announcements dated 28 September and 27 October 2011 for details). Of particular interest is the consistent 1% V2O5 concentrate grade which is 25% higher than results reported from Ruoni North and some 40% higher than indicated concentrate grades from South Zone and Chitongue Grande resource areas.
- Tenge: representing the hinge zone of the fold and covering a strike length of approximately 1.3km. A Drilling programme of 3,000m to 4,000m is well underway with an aggregate total of 2,250m already completed.
Consultant, Coffey Mining Pty Ltd, is currently developing a geological model for the Ruoni South block and is waiting on assay results to complete a resource estimate (scheduled for the end of November). The Company anticipates receiving the first analytical results from Tenge during December.
Scoping Study
Baobab is working alongside Coffey Mining to compile a revised Scoping Study. The study is drawing on the results of the resource calculations, metallurgical test work and a recently completed infrastructure review together with mine scheduling and pit optimisation studies currently underway to build a financial model assessing the economic viability of various process routes. Preliminary study results are expected during the latter half of November.
Tete Project Overview: located in Africa's emerging mining & industrial hub
The Tete Project, covering an area of 632km2, is located immediately north of the provincial capital of Tete and shares licence boundaries with Vale and Rio Tinto's mega coal projects. The project is strategically located to access abundant, low tariff hydro-electric power from existing and developing schemes on the Zambezi River. The ports of Beira and Nacala are being refurbished, as are the rail corridors through to Tete.
The project contains two areas of titano-magnetite / ilmenite mineralisation; the Singore area to the south and the Massamba Group trend in the north. The Massamba Group is composed of a series of five prospects (Chitongue Grande, Pequeno, Caangua, Chimbala and South Zone) forming an 8km long trend and the 3.5km long Tenge / Ruoni prospect to the east.
Baobab has entered into a strategic partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial arm of the World Bank, at both the corporate and project equity levels.
Tete Exploration Summary: resource base fast approaching targeted 300Mt
The Company commenced exploration initiatives in mid-2008 and has focused its efforts to date on the Massamba Group area. The Singore area remains largely untested, but highly prospective.
Work completed by the Company during 2009 culminated in the estimation of a 47.7mt maiden Inferred Mineral Resource over a 500m portion of the Chitongue Grande prospect and a 400mt to 700mt Exploration Target over the broader Massamba Group area.
Independent scoping metallurgical studies and financial modelling completed in 2009 indicate positive project economics in the production of high quality titano-magnetite/vanadium and ilmenite (titanium) concentrate commodities from a resource base of 300Mt.
Exploration during 2010 included a 7,500m scout drilling programme designed to assess the Chimbala and South Zone prospects of the Massamba Group trend.
The Company accelerated exploration activities in 2011 with over 35,000m of diamond and RC drilling completed to date. The campaign season commenced in February with resource drilling at the South Zone prospect. This work culminated the estimation of an 113Mt JORC Inferred Mineral Resource (announced on 30 August 2011). The resource remains open at depth and along strike.
An expansion resource drilling campaign at Chitongue Grande has also been completed with the associated resource statement update discussed above.
For the complete Baobab Resources announcement including figures, tables and Annexure 1, please view the following link:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/70339-Baobab.pdf
About Baobab Resources plc
Baobab Resources plc (LON:BAO) is a Mozambican-focused explorer with a large landholding in the central north of the country. The company's flagship project is the Tete iron ore deposit.
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