Maiden SOP Resource Estimate
Perth, June 29, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Goldphyre Resources (
ASX:GPH) is pleased to advise that it is firmly on track to become a long-term potash supplier to the Australian agricultural industry following the calculation of a strong Maiden Resource for its 100% owned/controlled Lake Wells Potash Project.
Highlights:
- Using total porosity (for industry comparison purposes only), total in-situ Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of
-- 70 million tonnes of SOP at 8.05 kg/m3 including
-- High-grade zone: 40 Mt of SOP at 9.03 kg/m3
- Using specific yield (drainable porosity), Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of:
-- 18.4 million tonnes of SOP at 8.05 kg/m3 including
-- High-grade zone: 10.5 Mt of SOP at 9.03 kg/m3
- Project very well located to existing infrastructure
- Proven brine abstraction technique based on common, efficient palaeochannel bores planned
- The most economically favourable abstraction of the high grade zone of SOP Resource will be the focus to create early value for shareholders
- During Q3 the key de-risking activity will be testing bore flow rates
- Test production bores to be installed with steady stream of results through the next two quarters
"This is a very strong result for a Maiden Resource. We are highly confident we can advance Lake Wells quickly and take full advantage of the outstanding opportunity we have to create value for Goldphyre shareholders." - Goldphyre Executive Chairman Matt Shackleton.
In light of this strong Maiden Resource, Goldphyre will now embark on a strategy to accelerate development of the Lake Wells Potash Project by installing test production bores and establishing both laboratory and field-based evaporation trials.
This work will form part of a wider development study on the Lake Wells Potash Project.
Goldphyre Executive Chairman Matt Shackleton said the total dependence of Australian agriculture on imported potash, the logistical advantages enjoyed by Lake Wells and the size and grade of Goldphyre's Maiden Mineral Resource were all factors that governed the decision to accelerate the development strategy.
"We took a risk in pursuing the depth extensions to the potash mineralisation at Lake Wells," Mr Shackleton said.
"The reward for our shareholders is that we now have a JORC Resource which delivers substantial scale and gives us extremely strong foundations on which we can advance Lake Wells.
"Uniquely, Lake Wells has a highly desirable combination of a strong JORC resource, is amenable to a proven technology for brine abstraction, and has numerous logistical advantages, including access to existing infrastructure.
"Given these factors, we are highly confident we can advance Lake Wells quickly and take full advantage of the outstanding opportunity we have to create value for Goldphyre shareholders."
Next Steps
Goldphyre is finalising plans for the installation of four test production bores at Lake Wells during Q3, with a view to establishing bore yields from the upper and basal aquifers. The key de-risking activity during the second half of 2016 will be testing bore flow rates, and Goldphyre expects a steady stream of results through Q3 and Q4.
In conjunction with these installations, the Company is also modelling field-based pond evaporation trials. Ideally, the test pumping and the field evaporation trials will be able to be conducted at the same time.
Laboratory-based evaporation trials are also being conducted on a bulk sample of brine collected from the Project. The results of these trials will be used to drive the design of the field ponds.
The next steps as outlined above are being undertaken to demonstrate that the substantial SOP high-grade zone at Lake Wells is amenable to a proven technology for brine abstraction. Simple brine abstraction techniques have the potential to deliver very favorable economic outcomes for the project, especially given the location of the SOP high-grade zone to existing, accessible infrastructure.
To view full release including Technical Discussion, Tables and Figures, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/F6261GV0
About Australian Potash Ltd
Australian Potash Limited (ASX:APC) is an ASX-listed Sulphate of Potash (SOP) developer. The Company holds a 100% interest in the Lake Wells Potash Project located approximately 500kms northeast of Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields.
Following the release of a Scoping Study in 2017, APC has been conducting a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) into the development of the Lake Wells Potash Project. The Company is aiming to release the findings of the DFS in H2 2019.
The Lake Wells Potash Project is a palaeochannel brine hosted sulphate of potash project. Palaeochannel bore fields supply large volumes of brine to many existing mining operations throughout Western Australia, and this technique is a well understood and proven method for extracting brine. APC will use this technically low-risk and commonly used brine extraction model to further develop a bore-field into the palaeochannel hosting the Lake Wells SOP resource.
A Scoping Study on the Lake Wells Potash Project was completed and released on 23 March 2017. The Scoping Study exceeded expectations and confirmed that the Project's economic and technical aspects are all exceptionally strong, and highlights APC's potential to become a significant long-life, low capital and high margin sulphate of potash (SOP) producer.
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