Sable Mining Africa Regulatory News (SBLM)

Sable Mining Africa Ltd / Index: AIM / Epic: SBLM / Sector: Natural Resources

13 December 2012

Sable Mining Africa Limited ('Sable Mining' or 'the Company')

Positive Preliminary Results from Metallurgical Testwork - Nimba Iron Ore Project

Sable Mining Africa Limited, the AIM listed exploration company, is pleased to announce positive initial results from metallurgical testwork from Plateau 2 of the Company's 123.5 sq km Nimba Iron Ore Project in south-east Guinea ('Nimba' or 'the Project'). These preliminary results have highlighted the potential for Nimba to host significant Direct Shipping Ore ('DSO') material. The demonstration of significant DSO material at Plateau 2, one of Nimba's three plateaux, which has a previously reported exploration target of up to 200 million tonnes, underpins the Board's belief that Nimba is one of the most commercially attractive undeveloped iron ore assets in West Africa.

As part of the metallurgical testwork programme, composites of the various ore types were prepared. Initial drop tower test work has indicated an approximate 50% lump recovery from the near-surface consolidated layer which could be suitable for DSO. The lump yield from the non-consolidated region was approximately 15% and the lump product from the hardcap was found to be similar in size to Newman High Grade Lump ('NHGL'). The fines product was finer than that of Newman High Grade Fines ('NHGF') due to the aim to maximise lump yield (selection of lump/fines cut-off size of 6.3mm). The -38 micron fraction which will report to tailings ranged from 8% to 18%.

The tower dropping procedure was designed to simulate the breakage that occurs due to the blasting in the mining operation, the subsequent crushing as well as the handling of the lump and fines products. The average uniaxial compressive strength ('UCS') of the samples from the core was 18.7MPa. This combined with an average crushing work index of 4.4kWh/t indicates the ore will be conducive to crushing at high rates with low power consumption.

A total of 12 composite samples were tested from the three ore types recognised. The average result for the consolidated (lump) and unconsolidated (fines) zones are as follows:

Table 1: Project Nimba: Lump and Fines - Preliminary XRF Results

* lump chemistry is the average of lump composites 74-1 and 75-1 representing the consolidated zone

^ fines chemistry is the average of all fines composites

# source of data from BHP Billiton product specification, March 2012 at www.bhpbilliton.com

The X-Ray Diffraction ('XRD') analysis has identified the major minerals present to be predominantly hematite (50% to 78%) with significant amounts of goethite (20% to 48%) and minor amounts of magnetite

Sable Mining CEO Andrew Groves said, "The latest results from Nimba further strengthen our confidence that our Nimba project is world class, with the potential to become a high tonnage, high grade and low cost production asset in the near term. These initial results have highlighted that the material tested exceeds the grade characteristics for both the NHGL and NHGF categories, and is well suited to be able to process at higher volumes and at lower costs. Together with the identification of minimal deleterious elements, the results further demonstrate the commercial viability and value of our potential end-products. I look forward to the receipt of further analysis over the coming weeks as we look to delineate our maiden JORC compliant resource in Q1 2013."

The information in this announcement that relates to Metallurgical Test Work and Mineral Resources has been reviewed by Jasbir Khosa, a qualified metallurgist and processing engineer employed by Xstract Mining Consultants. Jasbir Khosa has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a qualified person as defined by the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies.

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