Bushveld Iron Ore Resource Update

RNS Number : 7431S

Bushveld Minerals Limited

05 December 2012

 



5 December 2012

For Immediate Release

Bushveld Minerals Ltd

("Bushveld" or the "Company")

P-Q Zone Resource Update

Additional resource of 107 million tonnes added through drilling of the P-Q Zone of the Bushveld Iron Ore Project

Highlights:

·      Drilling  at P-Q Zone increases total mineral resource of the iron ore project by 107 million tonnes, at a cut-off grade of 35% Fe₂O_3, to 740 million tonnes 

o  90 million tonnes added to the Indicated category

o  17 million tonnes added to the Inferred category

·      Drilling confirms the absence of any major faults separating the north and south blocks of the P-Q Zone that enables future reporting of P-Q Zone as a single block

Commenting on the mineral resource update, Fortune Mojapelo, the Company's CEO, said "This update is an important milestone towards our objective to prove up a resource in excess of 1 billion tonnes in line with the commitments we made when the Company was admitted to AIM in March 2012. Importantly, the majority of the additional resource that we have reported is in the Indicated category, defined from surface along strike extension. Furthermore, the resource upgrade does not come from deeper resources but adds to a potentially open-castable resource."

MINERAL RESOURCE UPDATE

Bushveld Minerals Limited, (AIM: BMN), a mineral development company focused on iron and tin projects in southern Africa, is pleased to provide an update to ITS mineral resource statement following the drilling of five boreholes on the P-Q Zone (as announced in the Detailed Core Drilling Programme Update released on 02 November 2012). The total mineral resource of the project has now increased to 740 million tonnes (combined total of Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resource on the P-Q Zone and Main Magnetite Layer), an increase of 107 million tonnes on the maiden resource of 633 million tonnes, at cut-off grades of 35% Fe₂O₃ for the P-Q Zone and 40% Fe₂O₃ for the Main Magnetite Layer (MML).

The drilling programme focused on the P-Q Zone with the objective of extending the strike length of the mineralisation and increasing the geological confidence in the resource. The programme of 1,525 metres of diamond drilling comprised of five boreholes - two for strike-extension and three to confirm down-dip mineralisation.

These drilling results have now been incorporated into an updated mineral resource model and a resource statement has been released by The MSA Group ("MSA Group"), adding 90 million tonnes to the Indicated category and 17 million tonnes to the Inferred category, both at a cut-off grade of 35% Fe₂O₃.

                The additional drilling has also shown that there is no major fault separating the P-Q north and P-Q south  blocks as was previously inferred, and these resources are now be reported as a single block.

Results for the five boreholes are detailed below:

Borehole ID	Farm	Reason for drilling	Borehole Depth	P-Q Intersection From - To	Grade
VK16	Vliegekraal	Strike Extension	150.09 m	34 m-88 m (5 m intersection)	54m @ 31.% Fe2O3
MAL2	Malokong	Strike Extension	156.63 m	64 m -118 m (54 m intersection)	54m @ 44.7% Fe2O3
VK17	Vliegekraal	Down-dip	402.32 m	260 m-303 m (43 m intersection)	43m @ 49% Fe2O3
VK18	Vliegekraal	Down-dip	427.20 m	288 m-335 m (47 m intersection)	46.8m @ 47.4% Fe2O3
VK19	Vliegekraal	Down-dip	389.08 m	267 m-302 m (35 m intersection)	34m @ 42.4% Fe2O3

The updated mineral resource statement for the Project is as follows:

P-Q Zone Indicated Mineral Resources for <200 m vertical depth at various Fe2O3 cut-offs
Cut Off Fe2O3%	Million Tonnes	SG	Fe%	Fe2O3%	P2O5%	TiO2%	V2O5%	SiO2%	Al2O3%
35	350.01	3.65	31.16	44.58	0.07	9.8	0.18	27.2	10.7
40	281.14	3.69	32.37	46.31	0.06	9.8	0.18	27.2	10.7
45	178.06	3.74	33.79	48.34	0.06	9.9	0.18	27.2	10.7
50	42.49	3.82	36.81	52.66	0.04	10.0	0.18	26.9	10.7

P-Q Zone Inferred Mineral Resources, 200 m - 400 m vertical depth at various Fe2O3 cut-offs
Cut Off Fe2O3%	Million Tonnes	SG	Fe%	Fe2O3%	P2O5%	TiO2%	V2O5%	SiO2%	Al2O3%
35	324.62	3.59	30.37	43.45	0.06	9.2	0.16	26.6	11.3
40	208.85	3.66	32.59	46.62	0.07	9.9	0.16	24.8	10.6
45	125.25	3.71	34.54	49.41	0.08	10.2	0.15	23.5	10.1
50	55.09	3.72	36.44	52.13	0.08	10.0	0.14	22.7	9.6

MML Inferred Mineral Resources, <100 m vertical depth at various Fe2O3 cut-offs
Cut Off Fe2O3%	Million Tonnes	SG	Fe%	Fe2O3%	P2O5%	TiO2%	V2O5%	SiO2%	Al2O3%
40	66.21	3.83	37.1	53.1	0.01	9.2	1.24	17.9	11.1
45	66.15	3.83	37.1	53.1	0.01	9.2	1.24	17.9	11.1
50	51.05	3.84	37.9	54.2	0.01	9.4	1.27	17.0	10.9
55	17.00	3.88	39.5	56.4	0.01	9.7	1.32	15.3	10.3

The additional resource is exclusively on the P-Q Zone, and the details of the additional tonnages are shown below

P-Q Zone Inferred Mineral Resources, 200 m - 400 m vertical depth at various Fe2O3 cut-offs					P-Q Zone Indicated Mineral Resources, <200 m vertical depth at various Fe2O3 cut-offs
Cut Off Fe2O3%	Million Tonnes (current resource)	Million Tonnes (previous resource)	Fe2O3% (current resource)	Fe2O3% (previous resource)	Cut Off Fe2O3%	Million Tonnes (current resource)	Million Tonnes (previous resource)	Fe2O3% (current resource)	Fe2O3% (previous resource)
35	324.62	307.23	43.45	45.6	35	350.01	260.20	44.58	46.3
40	208.85	230.82	46.62	46.5	40	281.14	214.32	46.31	48.1
45	125.25	167.27	49.41	48.8	45	178.06	150.20	48.34	50.5
50	55.09	105.92	52.13	50.5	50	42.49	69.77	52.66	54.4

An update to the MML mineral resource statement is expected in the first quarter of 2013 after MSA Group completes the analyses that are currently underway.

The Company is interested in 64% and 68.5% of licenses 95PR and 438PR respectively, which comprise the project resource reported.

MSA Group is an independent provider with extensive knowledge of exploration, evaluation and environmental consulting and contracting services, providing design, execution and management of exploration projects. MSA Group assists its clients in developing, proving and realizing value from their mineral projects and has worked on numerous international and local projects on five continents and in over 30 countries. Its clients include multi-national mining companies and juniors listed throughout the world.

The scientific and technical information contained within this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Jeremy Witley a professional geologist with more than 20 years' experience in base and precious metals exploration and mining as well as Mineral Resource evaluation and reporting. He is Principal Resource Consultant for MSA Group and has the appropriate relevant qualifications, experience, competence and independence to be considered a "Competent Person" under the definitions provided in the JORC Code 2004 Edition..

Enquiries: [e-mail]

Bushveld Minerals Fortune Mojapelo	[phone]
Fox Davies Jonathan Evans	[phone]
Tavistock Communications Jos Simson/ Jessica Fontaine	[phone]
Tielle Communications Stéphanie Leclercq	[phone]

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

- ENDS -

Notes to the editor

Bushveld Minerals Limited is a mineral development company focused on the Bushveld Iron Ore Project and the Mokopane Tin Project, both located on the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa.

The Bushveld Iron Ore Project comprises two licenses covering 7,409 ha where a JORC compliant open-castable resource of 633 million tonnes (comprising 260 million tonnes Indicated and a further 373 million tonnes Inferred) has been established from a 4.5 km strike length. Further drilling along strike is expected to significantly add to the resource on the basis of identified strike extensions several kilometres long to the north and south of the project area with a target resource in excess of 1 billion tonnes planned. A scoping study on the project is underway for completion in Q1 2013.

The Mokopane Tin Project consists of one licence covering 13,422 ha where numerous targets for open-castable disseminated tin resources have been identified. The Company has explored and drilled one target (Groenfontein) and has short-term plans to explore a further four targets. The Company has established a JORC resource in excess of 5,000 tonnes of tin on the first target drilled, and is looking to expand the resource base by undertaking an exploration and drilling programme on other targets in the licence area as well as in areas currently under application. In the longer term, the Company intends to expand the resource base further by acquiring additional projects in the Bushveld Complex and elsewhere.

The Company was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market of the LSE in March 2012.

 

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