Quarterly Activities Report
Perth, Oct 30, 2015 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Crusader Resources Limited (
ASX:CAS) announce the Quarterly Activities Report with significant highlights.
Maiden JORC compliant mineral resource estimates delivered for the Querosene, Dona Maria and Crentes prospects at Juruena Gold Project. The total inventory exceeds 230,000 ounces of gold at 5.6 g/t Au (open pit and underground prospects combined)
High-grade resources at the Querosene and Dona Maria prospects total 459kt at 12.1 g/t for 178koz of gold, comprising;
o Querosene 263kt at 12.3 g/t for 104koz of gold and
o Dona Maria 196kt at 11.8 g/t for 74,700oz of gold
Both Querosene and Dona Maria are open at depth and along strike and expected to grow with additional planned drilling
Global Resource Engineering appointed to assist with optimisation and conceptual project designs - Initial economic reviews indicate that the Querosene and Dona Maria prospects could be favourable for underground development, being near-surface and relatively contiguous ore bodies
Metallurgical testwork for both Querosene and Dona Maria returns excellent (>90%) recoveries using conventional processing
Posse Iron Ore Mine continues to mine profitably with gross profit of $200k
Sales receipts for the quarter of $2.6M
Posse operating costs continued to trend downwards averaging $10.45/t over the quarter, compared to $12.67/t for the previous quarter
Crusader's Managing Director Rob Smakman commented, "It has been a very busy quarter where we have made significant steps at Juruena, culminating with the release of maiden resources for Querosene, Dona Maria and Crentes. The high grades at Querosene and Dona Maria have confirmed our geological model and importantly, provide a platform for expansion and exploration. Crusader will now focus on progressing a conceptual study to look at the best possible development options for Juruena.
We have managed to conduct the ongoing exploration and development at Juruena, whilst maintaining profitability at Posse- a challenge in the face of very difficult market conditions. We have managed to achieve this through continued cost discipline and a superior local product."
Juruena Gold Project - Mato Grosso State, Brazil (100% Crusader)
The Juruena Project (> 400km2 of contiguous tenements, 100% Crusader owned) is located in Central Brazil on the southern fringe of the Amazon basin. Situated on the western end of the prospective Juruena-Alta Floresta Gold Belt (estimated to have produced ~7Moz), Juruena has been worked extensively by artisanal miners (garimpeiros) since the 1980s, producing an estimated 500koz (see Figure 1 in link below).
Crusader's first drilling program at Juruena has successfully led to the estimation of maiden resources for three prospects within the Juruena Project- Querosene, Dona Maria and Crentes. A table of the resources at different cut-offs is given in link below.
Querosene Prospect
The Querosene prospect is located on the eastern end of the Juruena project area and was the first prospect targeted in the Crusader drilling program due to several exceptional high-grade drilling results from previous explorers. Results from Crusader's 2014/15 drill campaign confirmed and expanded on these results (including 2m @ 32.97 g/t gold from 84m in hole QR-20 and 3m @ 26.35 g/t gold from 73m in hole QR-03) and their continuity has allowed independent consultants to estimate a JORC compliant mineral resource of 263,500t at 12.3 g/t for 104,100oz Au (using a 2.5g/t lower cut-off and a 60g/t top cut).
Mineralisation is divided into four main zones, with the majority of the higher grades and ounces contained in the SE and Main zones. Mineralisation at Querosene is open to the south and at depth, with several areas on the Main zone and SE zone presenting obvious drilling targets which could have immediate and significant impact (see Figure 2 in link below).
The mineralisation is associated with narrow shear zones, quartz veins and minor sulphides. Mineralisation intercepts (downhole) normally vary between 1-4m in width (See Figure 3 in link below), with narrow, sub-vertical, non-magnetic dolerite dykes often associated.
Results for metallurgical testing on samples from the Querosene prospect indicate recoveries of > 90% for both gold and silver using standard leaching (see ASX release 1 July 2015). Results also indicate the gold and silver are free milling and well distributed within the ore.
Crentes Prospect
Mineralisation at Crentes appears to be associated with sheeted quartz and sulphide veins (pyrite, +/- chalcopyrite) which are exposed in a shallow garimpo working. The garimpo pit is approximately 400m long (oriented WNW- see Figures 4, 5 & 6) and up to 40m wide. The mineralised trend is associated with the Juruena fault zone, a regionally extensive feature which is generally unmineralised and along strike from the Querosene prospect.
Crentes is a lower grade prospect than Querosene or Dona Maria, however it has the advantage of being broad and near-surface and is therefore considered a potential open-pittable target.
Dona Maria Prospect
Dona Maria is located adjacent to the Crentes prospect, approximately 1 kilometre along the Juruena fault zone from Querosene. Mineralisation at Dona Maria appears to 'splay away' from the main Juruena fault (WNW) toward the NNW (see Figures 5, 6 & 7 in link below). There is a broad, relatively shallow garimpo working over the mineralised trend and historical intercepts indicate both very high-grade narrower intercepts and broad, moderate grade disseminated intervals.
Results from Crusader's 2014/15 drill campaign have confirmed very high grade zones within the Dona Maria prospect with results including;
- 8m @ 62.40 g/t Au from 101m in MR-10,
o including 3m @ 161 g/t Au
- 3.38m @ 47.97 g/t Au from 183.62m in MD-01,
o including 1.87m @ 84.50 g/t Au from 183.62m
Following the receipt of results from Dona Maria and their interpretation and geological modelling, independent consultants have estimated a JORC compliant mineral resource of 196,300t @ 11.8 g/t for 74,700oz Au (using a 2.5g/t lower cut and a 60 g/t top cut).
Mineralisation at Dona Maria is oriented NNW and appears to be a 'splay' away from the WNW trending Crentes mineralised zone (coincident with the main Juruena fault zone). Dona Maria mineralisation is associated with sulphides within a sheared, quartz-rich zone, associated with steeply dipping dolerite dykes (see Figures 5 & 6 in link below).
Metallurgical testwork at the Dona Maria prospect recovered +90% gold in standard leaching tests. Various tests including leaching and leaching plus gravity at different grind sizes and leach times, recovered between 85.4% and 91.0% gold (39.7% and 47.6% Ag). The 15kg sample which was composed of recent drill cuttings, had a head grade of 31.2 g/t gold and is indicative of the high grades observed at Dona Maria.
Posse Iron Ore Mine - Minas Gerais, Brazil (100% Crusader)
The domestic Iron Ore and Pig Iron industries in Brazil have continued to benefit from the weaker Brazilian currency, helping to counter the impact of lower international commodity prices. This factor combined with improvements in the quality of Posse's primary lump product - Hematitinha (HTT) has allowed the Company to source new customers and increase sales volumes in the local Brazilian market.
Early 2015 HTT sales volumes were around 12,000t/month and these have increased to around 19,000t/month (see Figure 9 in link below). This trend is expected to continue as iron ore markets continue to stabilise.
Cost reduction strategies have successfully retained margins and profitability with operating costs averaging $10.45/t over the quarter, compared to $14.60/t for Q1 and $12.67 in Q2 (see Figure 10 in link below).
Operating costs have been reduced significantly over the last year from a peak of $18.22/t for the December 14 quarter. The Company anticipates this trend to continue over Q4 2015 and throughout 2016.
As previously reported Crusader signed a key access agreement with the surrounding tenement holder at Posse, in June 2015. The agreement allows Crusader to mine into the neighbouring area, a pre-requisite to access all of the hematite and itabirite ore within Crusader´s Posse lease.
It is expected that this agreement will extend the mine life within the Posse tenement, within an updated pit boundary. Work has commenced over the period to access this quality ore so it can be blended to create products specific to individual customer needs and continue to increases the overall quality of Posse products.
Over the past 12 months the Company has successfully restructured its operations and activities, lowering costs through a combination of redundancies and improved processes. It is anticipated that sales receipts for the December 15 quarter will exceed all group expenditure from production, exploration and evaluation, and administration.
Borborema Gold Project, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (100% Crusader)
The currency effect on the BRL denominated gold price has continued to assist with the economic evaluation of Crusader's 100% owned Borborema Gold Project, located in the northeast of Brazil. Borborema has a JORC reserve of 42.4mt @ 1.18 g/t Au for 1.61Moz comprised of two ore lenses, with the shallow lens containing the bulk of the reserve (26mt @ 1.14 g/t Au for 970koz). Crusader is evaluating the opportunity to commence mining on a smaller scale focused on the shallow portion of the ore body.
Over the period, Scoping Study work at Borborema focused on two key areas, the water balance and licensing.
Water
The Borborema Gold Project is hosted in the northeast of Brazil, an area affected by droughts and water shortages in general. Mineral processing solutions which allow for higher levels of water recycling are therefore important for the longevity and economics of the project.
Crusader has met with several suppliers of filtration equipment, which is potentially useable for tailings disposal, and can allow for higher levels of recycling of process water. This technology has improved significantly over the past years as capital and operational costs have continued to fall. Filtration of tailings could potentially be a significant step for Borborema for several reasons;
- Remove the requirement for a tailings dam - the tailings will have most of the water recovered (final moisture content of ~ 8-15%) and be 'stackable' in a waste pile
- Potentially reduced capital costs - tailings dam and associated infrastructure
- In line with local government and IFC requirements regarding environmental responsibility
Construction has also begun on a new Government pipeline from Currais Novos to Armando Ribeiro Gonçalves Dam.
This will provide a substantial increase in water availability to the area, including Crusader's Borborema Gold Project. Environmental, Licensing and Social
Crusader continues to work with IDEMA (State Environmental Authority) and DNPM (federal mines department) to optimise the size and location of waste dumpsites and powerlines given the opportunity to commence operations on a smaller project.
Health & Safety / OHS
No lost time incidents (LTI) at Borborema, Seridó, Juruena or Posse during the period. We maintain our LTI-free record at Posse, to date now 876 days (end September 2015).
Corporate
Over the quarter Crusader hosted its major shareholder, International Finance Corporation (IFC), onsite at the Juruena Gold Project as part of Crusader's ongoing compliance with IFC requirements. Crusader is committed to meeting all of the environmental and social requirements of IFC and believes that their ongoing support will continue to assist the Company in the commercialisation of Crusader's gold assets in Brazil.
To view all tables and figures, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-CAS-740587.pdf
About Crusader Resources Limited
Crusader Resources Limited (ASX:CAS) is a minerals company focussed on the identification, acquisition, development and operation of projects in Brazil. Crusader believes that Brazil is a vastly underexplored country with high potential for the discovery of world class mineral deposits. The company has already acquired a diverse portfolio of projects including gold, iron ore, tin, tungsten and uranium and continues to utilise its strong networks in Brazil to identify new opportunities.
Crusader is characterised by a tight corporate structure and features an experienced board of directors who are strongly focussed on the success of the company.
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