LONDON (Alliance News) - Bushveld Minerals Ltd Monday said an additional 68.7 million tonnes of inferred mineral resource has been discovered at its Main Magnetite Layer vanadium project in Limpopo Province in South Africa.
Initially, 52 million tonnes of indicated mineral resource was announced for the Bushveld vanadium project, on which the company has recently completed a scoping study.
The update increases the mineral resource tonnage by 130% through the addition of MML hanging wall layers at ~0.75% V2O5 in situ grade.
Total mineral resources now stand at 120.5 million tonnes at a cut off of 25% iron for the combined inferred and indicated mineral resource.
The update comprises the layers within the hanging wall package which was assumed in the recent vanadium project scoping study to be mined as waste. Based on iron and V2O5 grades, certain layers in the hanging wall "can be included in the Bushveld vanadium project's total mineral resource inventory and will improve the overall tonnage of the project", it said.
The MML hanging wall mineral resource has been estimated to a vertical depth of 120 metres and is open at depth, "which presents further scope for tonnage increases in the future."
The update excludes several layers with average grades of ~0.3% V2O5 within the hanging wall package. "If metallurgical test work demonstrates economic recoveries, these layers could also significantly increase the overall tonnage," said Bushveld.
Bushveld Minerals' shares were up 1.84% to 4.15 pence per share at midday Monday.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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Bushveld Minerals (BMN)