Perth-based Yilgarn Mining Ltd has taken a further step in its nickel growth strategy in WA's Eastern Goldfields by announcing a new combined nickel-cobalt resource for the Coglia Well and Rocky Well deposits.
Perth-based Yilgarn Mining Ltd has taken a further step in its nickel growth strategy in WA's Eastern Goldfields by announcing a new combined nickel-cobalt resource for the Coglia Well and Rocky Well deposits.
The new resource is part of Yilgarn's 40 per cent joint venture with nickel producer, the Murrin Murrin Joint Venture (Minara Resources 60 per cent, Glencore 40 per cent), covering the Merolia Greenstone Belt near Laverton.
The new combined resource for both deposits is 12.3 million tonnes including high grade zones comprising 4.5 million tonnes grading 1.29 per cent nickel and 0.19 per cent cobalt.
The Rocky Well resource, of 4.2 million tones, is based largely on drilling carried out by the Joint Venture in the second half of 2005.
Yilgarn's Managing Director, Mr David Burt, said the new resource estimates were the first since the establishment of the Joint Venture last year, which brought together strategically located nickel-cobalt interests in the Laverton area.
Mr Burt said the Joint Venture had recently commenced a comprehensive program of metallurgical variability testwork to further quantify the amenability of the Coglia Well and Rocky Well nickel-cobalt mineralisation to cobalt upgrading.
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YILGARN ADVANCES NICKEL STRATEGY WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW NICKEL-COBALT LATERITE RESOURCE ESTIMATES
Perth-based Yilgarn Mining Limited (ASX Code: YML) has taken a further step in its nickel growth strategy in WA's Eastern Goldfields, today announcing a new combined nickel-cobalt resource for the Coglia Well and Rocky Well deposits - part of its joint venture with nickel producer, the Murrin Murrin Joint Venture (MMJV), covering the Merolia Greenstone Belt near Laverton.
The new resource estimate follows drilling programs carried out on the Irwin and Coglia tenements in the December 2005 Quarter and has resulted in an increased inventory of nickel and cobalt metal controlled by the Joint Venture. The new combined resource for both deposits is 12.3 million tonnes grading 1.07% Ni and 0.14% Co, including high grade zones comprising 4.5 million tonnes grading 1.29% Ni and 0.19% Co.
The new high-grade Coglia Well resource (3.5 million tonnes at 1.31% Ni and 0.20% Co, at a 1.1% Ni cut-off grade) contains 54% more nickel and 38% more cobalt than the previous resource announced by Sons of Gwalia in 2004. It incorporates the results of 20 in-fill RC drill holes, with further in-fill RC drilling currently in progress.
The Rocky Well resource (4.2 million tonnes at 1.01% Ni and 0.12% Co) is based largely on drilling carried out by the Joint Venture in the second half of 2005 and is restricted to a 1.1km strike extent of the mineralisation identified. In-fill RC drilling is currently underway which is expected to upgrade the classification of the resource and underpin an initial inferred resource at Rocky Well North.
Yilgarn's Managing Director, Mr David Burt, said the new resource estimates were the first since the establishment of the Joint Venture last year, which brought together strategically located nickel-cobalt interests in the Laverton area.
"We are pleased with the result, which represents a substantial increase in the resource inventory controlled by the Joint Venture," Mr Burt said. "The work completed to date also highlights the potential for further additions to our nickel and cobalt resources with continued drilling."
The ownership of the Joint Venture, which includes tenements covering a strike length of almost 60km and an area of 320km2 within the Merolia Greenstone Belt, is the Murrin Murrin Joint Venture (60%) and Yilgarn Mining (WA) Pty Ltd (40%).
Mr Burt said the Joint Venture had recently commenced a comprehensive program of metallurgical variability testwork to further quantify the amenability of the Coglia Well and Rocky Well nickel-cobalt mineralisation to cobalt upgrading.
"The relatively high cobalt values within the Coglia-Irwin Hills tenements could be the most significant factor in the early development of these resources, with preliminary metallurgical testwork carried out last year indicating that the cobalt mineralisation is amenable to beneficiation," he said. "The objective of the forthcoming testwork program at the Lakefield-Oretest laboratory is to confirm the cobalt upgrade potential."
"Minara Resources has previously indicated that it will be assessing the potential of the Irwin-Coglia tenements to provide upgraded nickel-cobalt feedstock to utilise the additional cobalt processing capacity at its Murrin Murrin operations," Mr Burt continued. "Yilgarn could, therefore, be in a position to benefit from the early development of small, high-grade laterite resources such as Coglia Well and Rocky Well, with relatively low capital expenditure requirements."
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