Sign In
28 Jan 2013 07:00
28 January 2013
Beacon Hill Resources Plc / AIM: BHR / ASX: BHU / Sector: Mining
Beacon Hill Resources Plc ('Beacon Hill' or 'the Company')
+31% Resource Upgrade for Minas Moatize Coking Coal Mine
The Board of Beacon Hill is pleased to announce a 31% increase in its JORC compliant coal resource for the Minas Moatize coking coal mine in Tete, Mozambique. The results of the infill drilling programme undertaken in 2012 have resulted in the JORC compliant resource at Minas Moatize being upgraded to 86.8Mt (previously 66.4 Mt) including a 15.4% increase in higher confidence Measured and Indicated resources.
JORC RESOURCE | Upgraded JORC Resource | Previous JORC Resource |
Measured | 41.4Mt | 35.9Mt |
Indicated | 35.2Mt | 30.5Mt |
Inferred | 10.6Mt | - |
Less Historical Underground Extraction | 0.4Mt | |
Total JORC Resource | 86.8Mt | 66.4Mt |
Rowan Karstel, Managing Director of Beacon Hill, commented: "I am delighted with the resource update being reported today which has successfully and substantially increased the size and confidence level of the Minas Moatize Coal Mine. We believe that the resource is capable of further material enlargement and look forward to the JORC compliant reserve statement which will be published and announced by the end of Q1 2013."
Resource Upgrade
The resource update was undertaken by Golder Associates (NZ) Limited and incorporated the results of the infill drilling programme that was undertaken in the second quarter of 2012 to prove up previously unclassified tonnes in the Upper and Middle Chipanga seams.
The additional data obtained from the infill drilling programme was combined with the existing drilling database and was validated to be suitable for modelling purposes. All geological modelling was completed on an in situ raw coal basis to produce a geological model suitable for classification and reporting of Coal Resources in accordance with 'The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' (The JORC Code, "2004 Edition").
The resource model was classified into Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories based on a combination of the average distance to samples, a minimum number of required samples, and a minimum number of samples per fault block. The resulting classifications were then reviewed and adjusted based on proximity to faults and other supportive evidence.
The updated total resource is 86.8Mt (Measured and Indicated of 76.3Mt) compared to the previous resource statement of 66.4Mt, all of which was higher confidence Measured or Indicated.
Seam | Classification | Mt | Ash | Volatile Matter | Inherent Moisture | Fixed Carbon | Total Sulphur | Gross CV |
(adb) | (% adb) | (% adb) | (% adb) | (% adb) | (% adb) | (MJ/kg) | ||
Chipanga Upper | Measured | 0.9 | 38.4 | 16.2 | 0.9 | 45.3 | 1.2 | 20.3 |
Indicated | 2.2 | 38.4 | 16.2 | 0.9 | 45.4 | 1.4 | 20.3 | |
Inferred | 1.1 | 39.6 | 15.9 | 0.8 | 44.3 | 1.1 | 19.6 | |
Sub-Total | 4.1 | 38.7 | 16.1 | 0.9 | 45.1 | 1.3 | 20.1 | |
Chipanga Middle | Measured | 6.1 | 58.2 | 13.1 | 1.1 | 28.7 | 1.0 | 11.5 |
Indicated | 8.5 | 57.4 | 13.2 | 1.1 | 29.4 | 1.2 | 11.9 | |
Inferred | 1.8 | 58.8 | 12.9 | 1.1 | 28.3 | 0.9 | 11.3 | |
Sub-Total | 16.3 | 57.9 | 13.1 | 1.1 | 29.0 | 1.1 | 11.6 | |
Chipanga Lower | Measured | 34.5 | 42.6 | 14.0 | 0.9 | 43.5 | 1.0 | 18.6 |
Indicated | 24.6 | 42.5 | 13.7 | 0.9 | 43.8 | 1.0 | 18.5 | |
Inferred | 7.7 | 40.6 | 14.0 | 1.0 | 45.4 | 0.8 | 19.4 | |
Historical Underground Extraction | -0.4 | 32.7 | 14.2 | 0.8 | 53.1 | 1.2 | 22.8 | |
Sub-Total | 66.4 | 42.3 | 13.9 | 0.9 | 43.8 | 1.0 | 18.6 | |
Total Resource | 86.8 | 45.1 | 13.8 | 0.9 | 41.1 | 1.0 | 17.4 | |
Total Measured + Indicated | 76.3 | 45.3 | 13.8 | 0.9 | 40.9 | 1.0 | 17.3 |
Revised Mine Plan and Mineable Reserve
A revised mine plan and an updated JORC compliant mineable reserve statement, which represents the portion of the geological resource that is economically mineable, are in the process of being finalised and will be published and announced by the end of Q1 2013.
In accordance with the AIM Rules, the information in this announcement has been reviewed by Petrus Cornelius Meyer, a qualified geologist with over 21 years' experience in the South African coal industry.
**ENDS**
For further information, please contact: | |
Beacon Hill Resources Plc | |
Rowan Karstel, Managing Director (rowan.karstel@bhrplc.com) | |
Justin Farr-Jones, Chairman (jfarr-jones@bhrplc.com) | |
Timothy Jones, Group Finance Director (timothy.jones@bhrplc.com) | + 44 (0) 1372 464 549 |
David Premraj, Director, Corporate Development (david.premraj@bhrplc.com) | +61 3 9627 9910 |
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Nominated Adviser) | |
Andrew Chubb / Sebastian Jones | +44 20 7523 8000 |
**NOTES**
Statement of Resource
The Coal Resources are reported in compliance with the guidance as defined in Appendix 5A of the ASX Listing Rules being the Australasian Code for Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code), 2004 Edition.
The Golder Associates (NZ) Limited nominated JORC Compliant Person responsible for supervising the preparation of the Statement of Resource is Adam Bonham-Carter. Adam has a background of 25 years in coal including extensive resource modelling and mine planning experience on coal projects in New Zealand, Africa, and Canada with geology ranging from simple to extremely complex. Adam is a Registered Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia and a Chartered Professional with the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
The supervising geologist contributing to the Statement of Resource is Petrus Cornelius Meyer ('Peet Meyer') of PC Meyer Consulting Pty Limited. Peet Meyer is a registered natural scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNSP) and with the South African Council for Geosciences (SACG), both of which are Recognised Overseas Professional Organisations (ROPO) under the JORC 2004 Code. In addition, he is a registered professional with the Department of Mines and the Geological Society of Mozambique.
Peet Meyer has more than 21 years' experience in the South African coal industry. He holds B.Sc. Hons (geology) and M.Sc. (Earth Science Practice and Management) degrees from the University of Pretoria and is an active member of the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA) and the Fossil Fuel Foundation. He has the appropriate relevant qualifications and experience to be considered as a Competent Person as defined in the Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves - Definitions and Guidelines (2004).
Follow the stocks
