Modern Mining October 2017

MINING News

T3 copper project makes “excellent progress”

and MO-G-80D is well outside the mineral resource announced in August this year. Assay results are required to deter- mine the widths and grades of the visible copper sulphides reported in preliminary geological logging. Mineralisation is dominated by finely disseminated chalcocite with localised veins containing visible chalcocite and bornite, including an unusual mottled vein occurrence of strong chal- cocite/bornite mineralisation within a sandstone unit. Importantly, these wide zones of visible sulphides occur down dip from narrow intersections of copper and lead/ zinc mineralisation intersected at shallow depth in previous drilling. MOD’s Managing Director, Julian Hanna, said the recent drill holes open significant potential for further resource extensions along strike and below the planned pit. The first hole to test the eastern IP anomaly north of T3 (MO-3R-08D) was completed at 643,9 m depth. MO-3R‑08D intersected vein-hosted chalcopyrite between approximately 590 m and 595 m down hole depth and the source of the IP anomaly has not yet been explained. The geology in the area of MO-3R-08D appears to have steepened along an interpreted major structure and further drilling is planned to test whether the target sequence is offset by sampling will generate material essential to further optimise our process flowsheet and recoveries as well as to initiate grade control programmes in anticipation of production. We also plan to use part of the bulk sample to provide a consistent feed to our in-coun- try pilot lithium chemical facility that is making considerable progress in producing battery grade lithium products.” Virimai Mining was contracted to carry out blasthole drilling and blasting focused on the western end of the old Arcadia pit where the Main Pegmatite is exposed. In order to generate the required 20 tonnes of material, three 1,2 m wide benches are being developed to fully expose the 7‑m vertical thickness of the Main Pegmatite.

this structure, north of MO-3R-08D. MOD believes this structure may be associated with a deeper 10 km long canoe-shaped EM conductive anomaly which extends either side of T3. Drilling has been stepped up with two diamond drill rigs testing east and west along strike from the current resource, three drill rigs infilling the current resource and two RC drill rigs drilling diamond hole pre-collars and water bores to test the potential for a sustainable supply for plant processing water. Several holes in the current programme have intersected very encouraging vein- hosted mineralisation down dip from the planned pit. Drilling is planned to focus on this area as soon as the resource infill drill- ing is completed. Regarding the PFS, MOD says that min- ing and process engineering studies have commenced using a revised ore process- ing rate of 2,5 Mt/a, a 25 % increase on the Scoping Study production target. This upgrade is in response to the growth in the T3 mineral resource estimate, the expected increase in the mineable inventory and the strength in the copper price since the Scoping Study was announced. The process plant will be designed to allow for a possible future expansion up to 4,0 Mt/a. This expansion capacity gives optionality in the event that there are further upgrades to the T3 resource and possible supplementary ore supply from the nearby T1 project.  From this, two 4-tonne bulkmetallurgical test samples will be sent to Johannesburg andWestern Australia for further metallurgi- cal testing aimed at optimising the process flowsheet and to ultimately improve recov- eries. The remaining 12 tonnes will be stockpiled and used to feed the company’s pilot lithium chemical facility at a rate of 2 tonnes per month over the next six months. The first production samples are being generated as part of this exercise, both from the broken Main Pegmatite stockpile and the clean pit faces using a 1 m x 1 m resolution grid. In addition to providing the company with check grades to reconcile against the results from the test work, the technical team is developing grade-control procedures that will be essential during full scale production. 

ASX-listed MOD Resources has announced excellent progress on the resource exten- sion drilling programme and open-pit pre-feasibility study (PFS) at the T3 copper project in Botswana’s Kalahari Copperbelt. The current phase of drilling at T3 com- menced on 7 August 2017. The company intersected wide zones (>50 m estimated true width) of visible copper with multiple intervals of visible disseminated and local vein-hosted cop- per sulphides in four recent diamond core drill holes at the western and eastern limits of drilling at T3. The visible mineralisation in holes MO-G-74D, MO-G-76D, MO-G-79D Disseminated ore from the T3 copper project (photo: MOD Resources).

Bulk sampling starts at Arcadia lithium project ASX-listed Prospect Resources has announced the commencement of its bulk sampling and pre-development grade control programmes at its Arcadia lithium project, 35 km east of Harare in Zimbabwe. Targeting the Main Pegmatite (exposed in the historical Arcadia pit), Prospect intends to generate approximately 20 tonnes of pegmatite to provide material for ongoing metallurgical optimisation stud- ies as well as feed for the company’s newly established pilot lithium chemical facility. Commenting on the initiation of the bulk sampling exercise, Hugh Warner, Prospect’s Chairman, said: “This first blast at Arcadia marks a milestone for the Arcadia project and its team. Importantly, the bulk

10  MODERN MINING  October 2017