Last checked at 30 Nov 2012 07:00
Anglesey Mining plc29 November 2012
New JORC compliant resource estimate for Parys Mountain
First property-wide JORC Code compliant resource estimates Ample scope for significant additions to the resources reported Plans for additional development and drilling under consideration Scoping study to be delivered shortly
Anglesey Mining plc ("Anglesey") is pleased to report that a JORC Code-compliant Mineral Resource estimate has now been prepared for its Parys Mountain copper-lead-zinc project in North Wales as follows.
Parys Mountain Mineral Resource estimate at $80 per tonne GMPV* Cut-Off
Zone Category Tonnes Cu % Pb % Zn % Ag g/t Au g/t Engine Indicated 489,000 1.38 2.61 4.99 92.8 0.5 Inferred 121,000 1.74 3.42 6.74 70.0 0.5 Deep Engine Inferred 618,000 1.95 1.90 4.22 23.0 0.2 White Rock Indicated 1,625,000 0.34 2.05 3.84 33.0 0.5 Inferred 534,000 0.38 1.93 4.04 41.0 0.4 Garth Daniel Inferred 299,000 2.06 3.07 6.43 75.0 0.2 Northern Inferred 2,542,000 1.48 0.56 0.94 6.0 0.4 Total Indicated 2,114,000 0.58 2.18 4.11 46.0 0.5 Inferred 4,114,000 1.46 1.20 2.40 20.0 0.3
Source: Micon. GMPV (gross mineral product value) based on Cu $3.50/lb, Pb $1.00/lb, Zn $0.90/lb, Ag $33/oz, Au $1700/oz; *GMPV described below
The resource estimate has been prepared by Micon International Co Limited ("Micon"). Anglesey is very pleased that the estimate shows continuity in the Garth Daniel and Northern zones, which are now far better defined than in the former estimates.
This new estimate follows a previous report by Micon in 2007 that dealt only with the White Rock deposit. The current estimate includes all the known contiguous deposits on site and is reported on a JORC Code-compliant basis. With the exception of the 2007 White Rock estimate, the previous resource was historical (estimated in 1990) and was not JORC Code-compliant. In now reporting all estimates on a JORC Code-compliant basis the project has been brought up to date and put in a position to be properly recognised for future funding.
Anglesey is particularly pleased with the work on the Garth Daniel Zone and the Northern Zone. The Garth Daniel zone had been partially identified in 1990 but benefitted from a further drilling programme in 2005 and 2006. The current estimate draws all this information together. The Northern Zone was previously poorly identified and without any significant continuity. Micon has now shown such continuity to exist and has defined a major resource for two discreet overlapping structures.
There are several other areas on Parys Mountain that have had exploration and drilling carried out on them that have not been included in these estimates. These include the area between the Deep Engine Zone and Garth Daniel, and the area around the Pearl Engine House that was drilled earlier this year. These and other targets will be subject to additional exploration in the future, and it is hoped that additional data will enable further continuity to be demonstrated with subsequent additions to the resource base. Anglesey believes there is ample scope for significant additions to the resources reported here.
At the appropriate time it is planned to carry out additional development and drilling to bring some or all of the Inferred mineral resource in to the Indicated mineral resource category. This will be dependent on funding and, in some cases, underground access to these areas.
Bill Hooley Chief Executive said "We are very encouraged by the indications at the lower cut-off levels that both the White Rock and the Northern zones could develop into large albeit lower grade deposits that may be amenable to bulk mining. We still intent to look to look to the upper levels of White Rock and the Engine zones for initial development but we now have a clear target for a more substantive operation at Parys Mountain than previously contemplated."
In producing its estimates, Micon has followed all the normal procedures required to make a JORC Code-compliant estimate. These have included a validation of the drill hole database, construction of wireframes around the various deposits, basic statistical analysis of the resultant assay data to identify the extent to which top-cutting was required, the basis for assay compositing, detailed variography analysis to identify the principal trends of the mineralisation, appropriate block sizes to represent the volume of the mineralisation and a determination of the appropriate search ellipsoid to be applied for grade interpolation in each deposit. Grade interpolation using Ordinary Kriging was then applied to the block model and the data was validated. Specific gravity data was reviewed to develop bulk densities for tonnage calculations.
A mineral resource estimate was then made based on a suite of metal prices. These metal prices were assigned to each block and the sum of the products of these prices and the various block grades produced a single Gross Metal Product Value ("GMPV") value for each block. Micon reported the mineral resources by category following the guidelines of the JORC Code, for a range of GMPV cut-off values from $0 per tonne to $200 per tonne.
Anglesey is now reporting these resources at both the $0 per tonne level and at the $80 per tonne level. The former shows the total geological resource on the site identified to date and the latter an indication of what is more likely to be available for mining following a detailed economic analysis. Subsequent to this notice and for the time being Anglesey will report only on the higher cut-off in its public disclosures.
The resource estimate methodology employed now is quite different from that used in 1990 and provides a higher degree of confidence than previously enjoyed. This methodology has resulted in differing grade:tonnage combinations than previously reported, but these are generally compatible with the old estimates.
The following tables show these results:
Parys Mountain Mineral Resource estimate at $0 per tonne GMPV Cut-Off
Zone Category Tonnes Cu % Pb % Zn % Ag g/t Au g/t GMPV $/t Engine Indicated 500,000 1.35 2.57 4.91 91.2 0.5 249 Inferred 121,000 1.73 3.42 6.73 70. 0.5 289 Ind + Inf 621,000 1.43 2.73 5.26 87.0 0.5 257
Deep Engine Inferred 620,000 1.95 1.90 4.21 22.0 0.2 201
White Rock Indicated 6,568,000 0.23 0.99 1.86 20.3 0.3 73
Inferred 1,874,000 0.25 0.99 2.00 23.3 0.2 76 Ind + Inf 8,442,000 0.23 0.99 1.89 21.0 0.2 73 Garth Inferred 419,000 1.63 2.25 4.72 54.0 0.1 216 Daniel Northern Inferred 15,725,000 1.10 0.17 0.28 5.0 0.1 68 Total Indicated 7,068,000 0.31 1.10 2.08 25.3 0.27 85 Inferred 18,759,000 1.06 0.37 0.72 8.8 0.11 78 Ind + Inf 25,827,000 0.85 0.57 1.09 13.0 0.2 80
Source Micon. GMPV based on Cu $3.50/lb, Pb $1.00/lb, Zn $0.90/lb, Ag $33/oz, Au $1700/oz
Parys Mountain Mineral Resource estimate at $80 per tonne GMPV Cut-Off
Zone Category Tonnes Cu % Pb % Zn % Ag g/t Au g/t GMPV $/t Engine Indicated 489,000 1.38 2.61 4.99 92.8 0.5 254 Inferred 121,000 1.74 3.42 6.74 70.0 0.5 290 Ind + Inf 610,000 1.45 2.77 5.34 88.3 0.5 261
Deep Engine Inferred 618,000 1.95 1.90 4.22 23.0 0.2 202
White Rock Indicated 1,625,000 0.34 2.05 3.84 32.5 0. 5 134
Inferred 534,000 0.38 1.93 4.04 41.1 0.4 140 Ind + Inf 2,159,000 0.35 2.02 3.89 35.0 0.4 136
Garth Daniel Inferred 299,000 2.06 3.07 6.43 75.0 0.2 287
Northern Inferred 2,542,000 1.48 0.56 0.94 6.0 0.4 112 Total Indicated 2,114,000 0.58 2.18 4.11 46.5 0.5 162 Inferred 4,114,000 1.46 1.20 2.40 20.0 0.3 147 Ind + Inf 6,228,000 1.16 1.54 2.98 29.0 0.4 152
Source Micon. GMPV based on Cu $3.50/lb, Pb $1.00/lb, Zn $0.90/lb, Ag $33/oz,Au $1700/oz
For further information, please contact:
Bill Hooley, Chief Executive +44 (0)1492 541981; Ian Cuthbertson, Finance Director +44 (0)1248 361333; Samantha Harrison / Klara Kaczmarek: RFC Ambrian +44 (0)20 3440 6800; Emily Fenton / Jos Simson: Tavistock Communications +44 (0)20 7920 3155
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