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LONDON (Alliance News) - Bushveld Minerals Ltd shares rose Thursday after it said it has made "significant progress" towards completing the pre-feasibility study for the Bushveld vanadium project in Limpopo province, South Africa.
Bushveld shares were up 7.6% to 2.34 pence per share on Thursday morning.
The mineral development company said it has drilled 31 boreholes over two zones on the project since November. The two zones on the project are the AB zone and the Main Magnetite layer.
On the AB zone, the company has drilled nine boreholes and received assay results from all of them, which has confirmed strike continuity along a 1.7 kilometre stretch and a thickness between 5.88 metres to 14.7 metres.
At the Main Magnetite layer, the company has drilled 22 boreholes, consisting of 14 in-fill boreholes which were used to upgrade the mineral resource into the measured category and eight boreholes which were used to obtain sufficient core for metallurgical testing, it said.
Of the 22 boreholes, samples from 20 holes have been submitted for testing, and Bushveld has received the assay results for 13 of the them.
Bushveld said the pre-feasibility study is on track to be completed in the first half, and said it will submit the mining right application during the first quarter.
"We have made significant progress towards the completion of the Pre-Feasibility study on the project, most notably the completion of the in-fill and metallurgical drilling on the MML and the preparation of our mining right application which is expected to be submitted shortly," said Chief Executive Fortune Mojapelo.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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