Ruoni Flats Exploration Target
London, Mar 29, 2012 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Baobab Resources Plc (
LON:BAO) the iron ore, base and precious metals explorer with a portfolio of exploration projects in Mozambique, is pleased to announce the results of an exploration target estimation underlying the Ruoni Flats area of the Tenge/Ruoni prospect (the 'Exploration target'). Tenge/Ruoni already accounts for over 300Mt of the global 482Mt Tete Project iron / vanadium / titanium resource inventory.
IFC (International Finance Corporation) hold a 15% participatory interest in the Tete Project with Baobab owning the remaining 85%. On 26 March 2012, the Company announced that it had successfully raised GPGBP2.76m (before expenses) which, combined with the IFC's 15% participatory contribution (announced on 6 February 2012), provides a substantial portion of the working capital required to complete the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) currently underway.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Independent consultants have estimated the Exploration Target underlying the Ruoni Flats area at 120Mt to 260Mt at a head grade of up to 38% Fe.
- This Exploration Target demonstrates the potential to expand the global resource inventory at Tete towards c.750Mt (more than double the original target of 300Mt).
- Pre-Feasibility Study is on schedule with beneficiation testwork well underway and preliminary environmental surveys completed.
- Resource upgrade twin drilling has commenced at Ruoni South.
Commenting today, Ben James, Baobab's Managing Director, said: "The Exploration Target not only confirms the Tenge/Ruoni prospect as a standalone deposit, but also underlines the potential for a significantly larger production rate over a significantly longer mine life than that modelled in the 2011 Scoping Study.
"With the PFS already underway and on schedule, the Company is well positioned to deliver a meaningful flow of news over the coming months as various aspects of the project are systematically de-risked."
RUONI FLATS EXPLORATION TARGET
Tenge/Ruoni is the easternmost prospect area of the Massamba Group, Tete Project. The area is underlain by a thick (60m to 150m), laterally continuous package of intense titano-magnetite/ilmenite mineralisation that has been synformally folded with the fold hinge plunging gently to the west-northwest. The northern and southern limbs of the fold comprise the Ruoni North and Ruoni South resource blocks, while the outcropping fold hinge comprises the Tenge resource block to the east.
A total of c.15,750m of diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling was completed in the Tenge/Ruoni area during 2011 culminating in the estimation of a combined JORC compliant Inferred Resource of 308Mt: comprising 93Mt at Ruoni North, 56Mt at Ruoni South and 159Mt at Tenge (announced on 31 October 2011, 7 December 2011 and 5 March 2012 respectively).
International consultancy, Coffey Mining Pty Ltd ('Coffey Mining'), was commissioned to complete an Exploration Target assessment of the resource potential of the buried fold hinge underlying the 'Ruoni Flats' area between Ruoni North and Ruoni South, immediately west of Tenge. The strong magnetic signature over this area, similar to that of the known mineralised zones, supports the geological model of the gently folded mineralised package persisting below cover with depths to top of mineralisation ranging up to 175m.
To determine the exploration potential, Coffey Mining extrapolated the mineralisation envelopes from the drilled resource blocks in to the Ruoni Flats area. The areal extent of the target area was defined by the limits of the high magnetic response in the reduced to pole (RTP) geophysical image.
Indicative tonnages and grades are presented in the table below. Lower and upper target tonnages have been derived assuming average thicknesses of mineralisation of 35m and 75m respectively (bulk density estimated at 3.5t/m3). Average grades from the Tenge resource estimate have been applied to the upper grade ranges for Fe, V2O5 and TiO2.
EXPLORATION TARGET FOR RUONI FLATS PROSPECT
INDICATIVE TONNAGES & GRADES
--------------------------------------------------------------Tonnes Range (Mt) Head Grade Ranges--------------------------------------------------------------Lower Upper Fe (%) V2O5 (%) TiO2 (%) Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower Upper120 260 25 38 0.1 0.25 5 12--------------------------------------------------------------
For the full announcement including tables and charts, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/72137-lon_bao_20120329.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.
| ||
|
