TIDMAMC
RNS Number : 1837R
Amur Minerals Corporation
13 June 2018
13 June 2018
AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION
(AIM: AMC)
May 2018 Drill Programme Update
Amur Minerals Corporation ("Amur" or the "Company"), a
nickel-copper sulphide mineral exploration and resource development
company focused on the Far East of Russia, is pleased to announce
its inaugural 2018 drill results through to 31 May 2018 at its
wholly owned Kun-Manie nickel copper sulphide project. With
drilling targeting the development requirement of the project, a
total of 5,078.2 metres (approximately 25% of the planned drilling
for this year) was drilled during May with a total of 41 drill
holes being completed. Significant portions of the drill programme
have been completed for the fulfillment of Russian licensing
requirements allowing the Company to progress towards mine design
and production.
Highlights
-- On 6 May 2018, the 20,300 metre drill programme, which is
designed to accomplish three objectives over the course of this
drill season, commenced.
-- The objectives of the programme include detailed infill
drilling for the purposes of developing detailed mine designs
allowing for the approval of mine operations, acquisition of a
large scale representative metallurgical sample along the Ikenskoe
/ Sobolevsky ("IKEN") and Kubuk ("KUB") mineral trend and the
conversion of a large high grade block of Inferred Mineral
Resources to that of Indicated Mineral Resources.
-- Throughout May, 5,078.2 metres of drilling (nearly 25% of
planned 2018 drill programme) was completed, with 41 holes being
drilled. From these holes, 1,085 mineralised samples have been
prepared and analysed on site by the Company and these samples are
now in transit to Alex Stewart Laboratory ("ASL") located in
Moscow, Russia. The sample material will be analysed for nickel,
copper, cobalt, platinum and palladium. When available, the ASL
results are intended for use in future Mineral Resource Estimate
("MRE") updates.
-- To fulfill Russian licensing requirements and to progress
towards mine design and production, detailed infill drilling is a
necessity. This work has now been completed at both Maly Kurumkon /
Flangovy ("MKF") and IKEN. Additional infill drilling (totaling
c.2,800 metres) is planned at both Vodorazdelny ("VOD") and KUB and
will begin this month.
-- With regard to infill drilling results, 33 holes (for a total
of 3,663.2 metres) were completed, confirming the continuity of the
mineralisation and indicated metal content at both IKEN and MKF.
The May 2018 drill programme has determined that the average
vertical thickness of the mineralisation per ore drill hole for
both IKEN and MKF is 20.6 metres containing a length-weighted
nickel grade of 0.84% and 0.22% copper (as calculated by the
Company*). Existing pre-2018 drill holes indicated an average
thickness of 21.9 metres per hole with average grades of 0.77%
nickel and 0.20% copper for the delineated areas. A grade thickness
comparison (average grade multiplied by average thickness) of
pre-2018 drilling versus 2018 drill hole results indicates a total
metal difference between the historical and 2018 results of less
than 1% for the two areas already drilled (MKF and IKEN).
-- At IKEN, the 2017 drill programme identified a large (15 to
20 million tonnes identified as Inferred Mineral Resource by RPM
Global ("RPM")) high grade ore block (ranging from 0.9% to 1.0%
nickel) which could positively impact the economic potential of the
project. Based on wide spaced drilling from 2017, 15 holes with an
average vertical thickness of 28.7 metres of 0.92% nickel and 0.25%
copper (as calculated by the Company*), this part of IKEN was
designated to contain an Inferred Mineral Resource. Resource
conversion drilling began on 21 May 2018, and four holes, out of a
total of 16 planned holes, have now been completed. The Company has
calculated* that these four holes contain an average vertical
mineralised thickness of 31.3 metres at length weighted average
grades of 0.95% nickel and 0.25% copper. An additional 6,000 metres
of drilling is planned for conversion and potential expansion of
this Inferred high grade block.
-- In addition to the above drilling, four metallurgical sample
collection holes containing a total of 463 drilled metres of the
budgeted 6,800 drill metres have been completed along the
mineralised length from IKEN to KUB. The mineralised portion of the
core has been delivered to the Khabarovsk core storage
facility.
Robin Young, CEO of Amur Minerals, commented:
"I am delighted to provide our 2018 maiden drill progress report
for May. Drilling nearly 200 metres per day using two Company-owned
Boart Longyear diamond core drill rigs, nearly 25% of the 2018
drill programme has already been completed in just 26 days of
drilling. Having planned to drill approximately 20,000 metres over
the course of the season, and having already completed more than
5,000 metres of drilling, we are rapidly advancing towards the
completion of our 2018 drill objectives.
"The Russian Federation infill drilling requirement allows the
Company to complete detailed exploration, post reserves with the
State Reserves Committee, ("GZK"), and progress towards mine
designs and approval for the construction phase. This infill
drilling has already been completed at two of the four
deposits.
"We have also commenced drilling on the large high grade
Inferred Mineral Resource block located at Ikenskoe / Sobolevsky,
which could represent two to three years of production. We are
already seeing that there is continuity of the mineralisation
through the middle of this block where drilling had not been
previously committed, and initial in-house results are supporting
the indicated near 1.0% nickel-only grades. Continued success here
will be highly beneficial, allowing us to move this high grade
metal content area forward in our planned production schedule and
generating further improvement in Kun-Manie's project
economics."
Enquiries:
Company Nomad and Broker Public Relations
Amur Minerals Corp. S.P. Angel Corporate Finance Blytheweigh
LLP
Robin Young CEO Ewan Leggat Megan Ray
Soltan Tagiev Tim Blythe
+44 (0) 20 7138
+7(4212)755615 +44(0)20 3470 0470 3203
Notes to Editors
The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed
and approved by the CEO of Amur, Mr. Robin Young. Mr. Young is a
Geological Engineer (cum laude), a Professional Geologist licensed
by the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing,
and is a Qualified Professional Geologist, as defined by the
Toronto and Vancouver Stock Exchanges. An employee of Amur for 12
years, previously Mr. Young was employed as an independent
consultant with Fluor Engineers, Fluor Australia and Western
Services Engineering, Inc. during which time his responsibilities
included the independent compilation of resources and reserves in
accordance with JORC standards. In addition, he was the lead
engineer and participant of numerous studies and projects requiring
the compilation of independent Bankable Studies utilised to finance
small to large scale projects located worldwide. Mr. Young is
responsible for the content of this announcement.
For further information, see the Company website at
www.amurminerals.com.
Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to
view the associated PDF document and audio file.
http://amurminerals.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2018-May-Summary-11-June-2018.pdf
http://amurminerals.com/content/wp-content/uploads/Audio-11-June-2018.mp3
2018 Drilling Programme Update
The planned 20,300 metre drill programme for 2018 is focused on
the acquisition of specific information related to obtaining
necessary technical information associated with the development of
the Kun-Manie nickel copper sulphide project located in the Russian
Far East. Key objectives related to the drill programme
include:
-- Infill drilling of small selected areas of previously drilled
areas for the purpose of confirming the continuity of the
mineralisation, mineral thicknesses and the contained average
grade. By successfully proving that there is a limited difference
in these parametres between the previous existing wider spaced
pattern and that of the infilled pattern, the Company fulfills
Russian licensing requirements allowing for the acquisition of
approved mine and production designs suited for operational
startup. Infill drilling at MKF and IKEN has already been completed
with an additional 2,836.8 metres to be drilled at VOD and KUB.
-- During the 2017 drill programme, a large high grade
mineralised zone was drill identified by widely spaced holes. This
near 1.0% nickel zone is estimated to contain 10 to 15 million
tonnes of ore and it is anticipated that this zone has the
potential to generate the highest operational profit per ore tonne
within the Kun-Manie production licence area. Classified as an
Inferred Mineral Resource by JORC (2012) standard, successful
infill drilling would allow Amur to fully include this area within
the mine production plan without any limitations. The zone is also
located in such a manner as to allow for its potential mining at an
early stage in the mine life providing production of greater
tonnages of nickel than is currently being considered in the mine
production schedule. Drilling is underway with approximately 6,050
metres remaining to be completed.
-- Acquisition of a representative large scale bulk
metallurgical sample along the mineralised length from IKEN to KUB.
The early stage of core acquisition is underway and will be used by
the Company to develop an operational metallurgical profile to
quantify metal recoveries and the variability of the mill feed over
the life of the mine. With 463 metres already completed, drilling
for sample recovery is presently planned to require a further
6,337.0 metres.
The planned distribution of drilling and the portion that has
been completed is summarised in the following table. During the
first 26 days of drilling, approximately 25% of the total planned
drilling for 2018 has been completed which totals 5,078.2 metres as
of 31 May 2018. A total of 1,085 drill core samples are in transit
to ASL for the derivation of certified analytical results necessary
for use in the determination of an updated MRE. It is anticipated
the Company will be able to announce these final results in Q3
2018.
2018 Drill Programme
Drill Planned Completed Remaining
Objective (m) (m) (m)
Mining Design Considerations 6,500.0 3,663.2 2,836.8
--------- ---------- ----------
High Grade Zone Confirmation 7,000.0 952.0 6,048.0
--------- ---------- ----------
Metallurgical Sample 6,800.0 463.0 6,337.0
--------- ---------- ----------
Total 20,300.0 5,078.2 15,221.8
--------- ---------- ----------
*Analytical Results - Cautionary Comment
Analytical results presented in this and upcoming RNS
announcements are internally generated by the Company using one of
two Niton XL2 500 X-Ray Fluorescence units ("RFA"). The RFA units
provide initial results allowing for a rapid turnaround to assist
in decision making to finalise drill hole site selections and are
indicative. Use of these results is not without risk if the units
have not been rigorously tested and calibrated. Annually and at the
beginning of every field season, these units undergo a calibration
programme that uses standards provided with the units and existing
samples that have been analysed by external facilities (ASL).
The final and definitive source of analytical results is
produced by Alex Stewart Laboratories ("ASL") located in Moscow,
Russia. This fully independent, licenced and certified laboratory
provides the results that are used in resource estimation and is of
a greater accuracy than that of the RFA unit especially for values
in excess of 1.0% nickel.
Glossary
DEFINITIONS OF EXPLORATION RESULTS, RESOURCES & RESERVES
EXTRACTED FROM THE JORC CODE: (December 2012) (www.jorc.org)
A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of
material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the Earth's crust
in such form, quality and quantity that there are reasonable
prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity,
grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral
Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific
geological evidence and knowledge. Mineral Resources are
sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into
Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.
An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral
Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be
estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from
geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological and/or
grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through
appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches,
pits, workings and drill holes which may be limited or of uncertain
quality and reliability.
An 'Indicated Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral
Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical
characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a
reasonable level of confidence. It is based on exploration,
sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate
techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits,
workings and drill holes. The locations are too widely or
inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade
continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be
assumed.
A 'Measured Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource
for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics,
grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of
confidence. It is based on detailed and reliable exploration,
sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate
techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits,
workings and drill holes. The locations are spaced closely enough
to confirm geological and/or grade continuity.
An 'Ore Reserve' is the economically mineable part of a Measured
and/or Indicated Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials
and allowances for losses which may occur when the material is
mined. Appropriate assessments and studies have been carried out,
and include consideration of and modification by realistically
assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal,
environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments
demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction could
reasonably be justified. Ore Reserves are sub-divided in order of
increasing confidence into Probable Ore Reserves and Proved Ore
Reserves.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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