LONDON (Alliance News) - Landore Resources Ltd Monday said a new study on the Junior Lake property has shown more exploration work is warranted in certain areas and has laid out suggestions for how the company can increase the mineral resource at the project.
The miner said Canadian-based engineers RPA Inc compiled the report based on work carried out by Landore on the B4-7 deposit, the Alpha Zone, the VW deposit, and the discovery of the nickel, copper and platinum group metal mineralization at the Grassy Pond and the Carrot Top areas.
The report was based on data available up to August 2009 for the VW deposit, November 2012 for the B4-7 deposit, and May 2013 for the Alpha Zone. Additional drilling carried out in 2013, 2014, and 2015 that intersected additional mineralization along the down-plunge extension of the B4-7 deposit has not been incorporated in the current mineral resource estimate.
The study showed that by adding that information from the drilling work on the B-47 deposit in 2013, 2014 and 2015, the mineral resource at the B-47 deposit could increase by 15% to 20%.
"Overall, RPA is of the opinion that there is excellent exploration potential remaining in many areas of the Junior Lake property and that more work is warranted," said RPA in the study.
The study also found the Grassy Pond area is "a favourable host rock for nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum group metal and gold mineralization."
The Grassy Pond and Carrot Top areas are located to the northwest of the B4-7 deposit. The report suggests the mineralisation found in those areas are similar to that found in the B-47 and VW deposits, giving it greater confidence in the B-47 and VW areas where it has focused its work so far.
RPA said it has incorporated conductor traces found from the MaxMin and very low frequency electromagnetic surveys completed by Landore and drill holes with anomalous results to help "identify a number of good exploration targets warranting more work in the B4-7 deposit and VW deposit area."
"In RPA's opinion, the Grassy Pond Sill has good potential for hosting other massive sulphide lenses in addition to the B4-7 deposit and recommends that exploration activities continue," said the study.
Prior to further exploration work, RPA said a preliminary economic study that investigates minimum tonnage and grade requirements at a various metal prices is needed to prioritize the on-going exploration activities.
"In general, RPA's opinion is that future exploration activities should focus on increasing the existing resources and discovering new deposits," said RPA, which laid out a series of suggestions for increasing the mineral resource at the Junior Lake property.
RPA said Landore should update the resource by incorporating the drill data from 2013, 2014 and 2015 on the B-47 deposit to evaluate the potential for the resource to be increased by 15% to 20% and by carrying out further exploration work on the B-47 deposit to find further mineralisation.
RPA has also suggested Landore evaluates the strike extensions at the Alpha Zone at shallow depths to test for the presence of additional mineralized areas that may be exploited by means of open pit mining methods, allowing it to be added to the resource.
Landore should carry out, according to the study, a small programme of widely spaced exploration drilling to test for the presence of additional mineralization both beneath the known limits of the VW deposit, and along the eastern strike projection.
"Landore is currently in the process of completing a proposed four stage work programme, with the Phase 1 work of a review of the Junior Lake geophysical surveys and investigation of the mineral potential of the property nearing completion," said Landore.
Landore's overall aim with the project is to grow its resource base to over 100,000 tonnes of nickel equivalent to ultimately sell the project to a third party or enter into a joint venture partnership to develop the project.
Currently, the project has 55,008 tonnes of nickel equivalent, over 93% of which is classed as an indicated resource, suggesting the company still has a long way to go before it can fulfil its strategy.
Landore shares were untraded Monday morning. They last closed at 0.674 pence.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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Landore (LND)