Modern Mining July 2016

MINING News

Drilling at Giro gold project yields exceptional grades

3 m at 1 260 g/t Au from 15 m; and 33 m at 6,1 g/t Au from surface including 3 m at 34,7 g/t in laterite. “These are exceptional results from this initial shallow drilling programme at our newest target at Douze Match,” com- ments Burey’s Chairman, Klaus Eckhof. “The results from hole DM-RC003 are better than anything I have seen in my Moto-Kibali experience. Finding such high grade this early on the Douze Match anomaly suggests we have discovered a potential company-making prospect where we will now focus on testing along strike and to depth. “Further drilling will continue to define the extent of the mineralisation and also target greater depths down to 100 m. While high grade occurrences are com- mon in the region, we have never seen intercepts of these exceptional grades.” The Giro gold project comprises two exploitation permits covering a surface area of 610 km² in the Kilo-Moto Belt, a sig- nificant under-explored greenstone belt which hosts Randgold Resources’ 17-mil- lion ounce Kibali group of deposits, lying within 30 km of Giro.  The industrial city of Mbeya is situated only 26 km from the project area. The reserves are reported in accordance with JORC Code (2012) and incorporate the results of the recently completed Cradle Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) inclusive of the extensive investigations and work carried out since 2012 by Cradle and, more recently, by Panda Hill Tanzania Limited (PHT). Cradle owns 50 % of PHT which in turn owns 100 % of the project. The ore reserve estimate assumes that the project commences at a throughput of 1,3 Mt/a and is ramped up to 2,6 Mt/a after four years of production and is based on the mine designs generated from the first three pushbacks defined in the DFS. The mine will consist of an open-pit operation using conventional back-hoe type excavators loading both ore and waste onto a fleet of 90-t haul trucks. Drill and blast will be required and a bench height of 5 m has been assumed with load- ing on 2 x 2,5 m flitches. 

Diamond drilling in progress at the Giro gold project in the DRC (photo: Burey Gold).

ASX-listed Burey Gold has reported results from the first 10 RC drill holes at its Douze Match target area which lies immediately south of a dominant granite intrusion in the NW portion of PE 5049 on its Giro gold project in the Moto Greenstone Belt in the north-east of the DRC. The shallow RC

drilling programme was designed to test approximately 1 km of the soil anomaly which extends over 4 km x 2,5 km at Douze Match. Significant intercepts from the drilling include 2 m at 196 g/t Au from 12 m and 15 m at 255,6 g/t Au from 15 m, including

Australia’s Cradle Resources, listed on the ASX, has announced a maiden ore reserve estimate – 20,6 Mt at a Nb 2 O 5 grade of 0,68 % – for the Panda Hill Cradle declares maiden resource for Panda Hill niobium project in Tanzania. The proj- ect is located in the Mbeya District in south-western Tanzania, approxi- mately 650 km west of Dar es Salaam.

Bauba Platinum secures Mine Right for Moeijelijk JSE-listed Bauba Platinum reports it has successfully secured a 20-year Mine Right for chrome on the Farm Moeijelijk 412 KS from the Department of Mineral Resources. Chief Executive Officer of Bauba, Nick van der Hoven, commented: “I am very pleased to announce the fulfilment of the legislative conditions for the continuation of mining operations, beyond that permit- ted under the Small Scale Mining Permit received in November 2014, as this will enable the company in the foreseeable future to continue its pursuit of being both a cash generating chrome producer and an exploration company.”

certain parties regarding the planning of underground chrome operations on Moeijelijk which are to be undertaken under the Mine Right at an anticipated 30 000 tonnes of run of mine chrome ore per month. The company says the development of the underground mining operations may possibly commence either during the last quarter of 2016 or during the first quarter of 2017, subject to the granting of a pending Water Use Licence application and prevail- ing market conditions. The development of underground min- ing operations would run parallel with the opencast operations, consequently render- ing a significant increase in tonnages to be mined monthly. 

Bauba has, during the second quarter of 2016, also concluded discussions with

14  MODERN MINING  July 2016