Myanmar Metals has reported some spectacular base metal, silver and cobalt assay results from a recently completed drill program at its world class Bawdwin polymetallic deposit in central Myanmar.
Results include 46 metres grading 9.7% lead and 116g/t silver from the base of the historic open pit and 19 metres @ 6.6% lead, 187g/t silver, 0.5% copper and 0.11% cobalt from a depth of just 3 metres.
Partial assay results from visually mineralised intervals returned in other holes show significant cobalt mineralisation combined with high-grade lead and zinc and elevated copper and nickel results.
The global JORC-compliant inferred mineral resource estimate for the deposit currently stands at 76.9 million tonnes grading 4.6% lead, 2.3% zinc, 0.24% copper and 118g/t silver.
Myanmar looks to have uncovered a monster of a polymetallic ore system with the company-making Bawdwin deposit.
The company’s Chairman, John Lamb said: “Early assays from our latest drilling program continue to confirm Bawdwin as a Tier 1 Silver and Base Metals deposit but they also reveal some significant surprises. Not only are we seeing the expected lead, silver and zinc values but we are also seeing significant levels of cobalt in the mineralised system, which is very exciting, particularly as it appears to be associated with nickel and copper which we have now shown exists in discrete zones within the mineralised system.”
“Bawdwin is indeed a true polymetallic system and our understanding of the ultimate potential of this world-class mineral deposit continues to grow and evolve.”
Myanmar’s challenge is to differentiate the metallic ore types present in this complex geological deposit.
The company only recently identified a higher-grade copper section containing around 120,000 tonnes going over 3% copper.
Importantly this newly discovered section is located outside the better-known “lead envelope” that was historically mined at Bawdwin.
Recent studies undertaken by CSA Global for Myanmar, indicate that the copper resource could well be an economic target in its own right, potentially producing a separate stream of valuable copper concentrate from the deposit.
Drilling results reported in the latest announcement confirm the location of high-grade massive sulphide lodes defined by historical work.
They also reveal the position and tenor of the lower-grade disseminated “halo” sulphide mineralisation at Bawdwin, which is amenable to lower cost open pit mining.
The current program covers 600m of strike over the central China Lode that was historically mined to a depth of around 70m via open pit methods and later extracted from underground workings.
Myanmar are looking to turn the Bawdwin deposit into a “super pit”, conceptually taking a Stage 1 open cut design down to about 250m depth with a projected pit length of over 1km.
The current drilling program is now 70% complete and Myanmar will release further assay results to the ASX as they become available.
The next move for the company includes the exciting step of blending all the new assay results into an updated mineral resource estimate and the upgrading of the resource at the proposed Stage 1 pit from inferred to indicated status.
This will lead to an update of the Scoping Study which will also integrate the results of the definitive metallurgical test work presently underway.
The company is strongly focussed on exercising its option for 85% of the Bawdwin project by the 21st of May 2018.
A bankable feasibility study will follow shortly after as Myanmar seeks to tame the tiger that is Bawdwin.
