(DNI : TSX-Ven)(DG7 : Frankfurt)
TORONTO,
Feb. 28, 2013 /CNW/ - DNI Metals
Inc. (DNI:TSX-Ven)(DG7:FSE) is pleased to announce a 548
million short ton NI-43-101 compliant initial maiden inferred
resource from the Buckton South Zone on its Alberta polymetallic black shale project. This
Zone, located approximately seven kilometres to the south of the
Buckton Zone, is one of six zones identified on DNI's 2,720 square
kilometre Property in northeast Alberta.
The inferred resource being announced is the
first delineated over the Buckton South Zone. A 3.49 billion ton
inferred resource was previously announced from the Buckton Zone to
the north of the Buckton South Zone (press January 11, 2013), and it is possible that the
two Zones are connected.
The Buckton South maiden inferred resource
extends over approximately 3.3 square kilometres, and is hosted in
two near-surface stacked shale and black shale horizons which are
mineralized with recoverable Mo-Ni-U-V-Zn-Co-Cu-Li-REEs-Y-Th-Sc and
are partly exposed on surface. The resource is based on a
US$10/tonne base cut-off and
represents all mineralized tonnages that are under less than 75m of
overburden cover, consisting of a lower-grade upper horizon hosted
in the Labiche Formation, and a higher-grading horizon beneath it
hosted in the Second White Speckled Shale Formation.
The Buckton South maiden resource study (or "the
Resource Study") was prepared by Apex Geoscience Ltd ("Apex"),
Edmonton, under the supervision of
Mr.Roy Eccles PGeol, Mr.Michael Dufresne PGeol and Mr.Steven
Nicholls MAIG, who are the Qualified Persons in connection with its
preparation and are independent of DNI. The Resource Study relies
on DNI's 2012 Summer drilling over the Zone, supported by other
historic exploration information from the area. The Resource Study
complies with National Instrument 43-101 and CIM resource
estimation guidelines.
This press release is a summary of salient
conclusions from the Buckton South mineral resource study report
which is being filed to SEDAR and will be available shortly. The
report, "National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report, Maiden
Inferred Resource Estimate For The Buckton South Zone, SBH
Property, Northeast Alberta",
with effective date of March 1, 2013,
will also be available from DNI's website www.dnimetals.com.
The Buckton South maiden resource is classified
as an inferred resource consisting of 548 million short tons (497
million metric tonnes) of mineralized black shale extending over
3.3 square kilometres beneath less than 75m of overburden cover.
This resource is hosted in the Labiche Formation and underlying
Second White Speckled Shale Formation, which are two flat-lying
Formations that are stacked to comprise a continuous thick zone of
mineralized shale. The inferred resource is mineralized with
recoverable Molybdenum (Mo), Nickel (Ni), Uranium (U), Vanadium
(V), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Cobalt (Co), Lithium (Li), Scandium
(Sc), Thorium (Th) and Rare Earth Elements Lanthanum (La), Cerium
(Ce), Praseodymium (Pr), Neodymium (Nd), Samarium (Sm), Europium
(Eu), Gadolinium (Gd), Terbium (Tb), Dysprosium (Dy) and Yttrium
(Y). The Resource Study estimates that the maiden inferred resource
is overlain by 122 million short tons (110 million metric tonnes)
of glacial till overburden cover. The inferred resource reported by
the Buckton South maiden resource study is tabulated below
combining the upper and lower portions of the resource on a
weighted basis.
Buckton South
Initial Maiden Inferred Mineral Resource
Upper (Labiche Formation) and Lower (Second White Speckled
Shale) Portions Combined |
Mineralized Shale (tons) |
547,516,000 |
|
MoO3 |
Ni |
U3O8 |
V2O5 |
Zn |
Cu |
Co |
Li2CO3 |
Raw Grade
(ppm) |
25.9 |
71.3 |
11.8 |
720.6 |
184.7 |
47.2 |
15.2 |
370.3 |
Recoverable Grade (ppm) |
13.1 |
60.5 |
10.1 |
178.2 |
149.2 |
29.6 |
12.7 |
157.4 |
Metal/Oxide Price* (US$/lb) |
17.63 |
9.07 |
68.99 |
7.67 |
0.90 |
3.29 |
22.39 |
2.68 |
Recoverable metal/oxide (kg) |
6,490,000 |
30,034,000 |
4,993,000 |
88,489,000 |
74,095,000 |
14,700,000 |
6,299,000 |
78,204,000 |
Recoverable metal/oxide (lbs) |
14,308,000 |
66,214,000 |
11,008,000 |
195,085,000 |
163,351,000 |
32,408,000 |
13,887,000 |
172,410,000 |
|
|
La2O3 |
Ce2O3 |
Pr2O3 |
Nd2O3 |
Sm2O3 |
Eu2O3 |
Gd2O3 |
Tb2O3 |
Raw Grade (ppm) |
46.6 |
81.5 |
10.5 |
39.4 |
7.7 |
1.7 |
6.7 |
1.1 |
Recoverable Grade (ppm) |
14.8 |
30.8 |
4.3 |
18.2 |
4.8 |
1.1 |
4.6 |
0.7 |
Metal/Oxide Prices** US$/kg) |
42.84 |
47.40 |
114.98 |
128.61 |
58.66 |
1,872.65 |
83.70 |
1,551.08 |
Recoverable Oxide (kg) |
7,353,000 |
15,292,000 |
2,128,000 |
9,056,000 |
2,372,000 |
540,000 |
2,305,000 |
372,000 |
Recoverable Oxide (lbs) |
16,211,000 |
33,713,000 |
4,691,000 |
19,965,000 |
5,229,000 |
1,190,000 |
5,082,000 |
820,000 |
|
|
Dy2O3 |
Ho2O3 |
Er2O3 |
Tm2O3 |
Yb2O3 |
Lu2O3 |
Y2O3 |
Sc2O3 |
ThO2 |
Raw Grade (ppm) |
6.2 |
1.2 |
3.5 |
0.5 |
3.5 |
0.7 |
39.3 |
21.9 |
11.8 |
Recoverable Grade (ppm) |
4.4 |
0.8 |
2.2 |
0.3 |
1.9 |
0.4 |
26.7 |
7.7 |
5.0 |
Metal/Oxide Prices** US$/kg) |
864.09 |
205.82 |
197.35 |
$97.00 |
100.63 |
1,024.09 |
81.73 |
3,881.39 |
252.00 |
Recoverable Oxide (kg) |
2,179,000 |
388,000 |
1,109,000 |
153,000 |
950,000 |
204,000 |
13,273,000 |
3,828,000 |
2,497,000 |
Recoverable Oxide (lbs) |
4,804,000 |
855,000 |
2,445,000 |
337,000 |
2,094,000 |
450,000 |
29,262,000 |
8,439,000 |
5,505,000 |
*Metal/Oxide
commodity prices used to establish bulk recoverable values for
cut-off grade thresholding tests are the five year trailing average
to Oct/2012.
**Metal/Oxide commodity prices used to establish bulk
recoverable values for cut-off grade thresholding tests are the
three year trailing average to Oct/2012 for La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Gd Tb
Dy Y; three year trailing average to Aug/2011 for Tm; Th per
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009-2011, the two year
trailing average to Oct/2012 for Ho Er Yb Lu Sc. Metal prices vary
among various commodity information sources and, in all conflicting
instances, the lower pricing was used. The 2012 drilling
included an appropriate number of analytical standards, blanks and
duplicates, and no analytical issues were identified. ton=short
ton; lb=pound; kg=Kilogram; Recoverable metal/oxide stated to
nearest 1000kg or 1000lb. Figures may not add exactly due to
rounding. |
Mineral resources are not mineral reserves
and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no
guarantee that all or any part of the mineral resource reported
herein will be converted into a mineral reserve. An 'Inferred
Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which
quantity and grade or quality can be estimated on the basis of
geological evidence and limited sampling and reasonably assumed,
but not verified, geological and grade continuity. The estimate is
based on limited information and sampling gathered through
appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches,
pits, workings and drill holes. The metal recoveries reported
represent preliminary mineral recovery testing results collated
from the collective bench scale laboratory testwork completed by
DNI to date and may not reflect actual process recoverability that
might be achieved in a mineral production operation, all of which
is the subject of ongoing studies.
This Buckton South maiden resource has been
classified as an inferred resource according to CIM standards,
based on a number of factors, namely; limited number of drill holes
and their wide spacing, good continuity of mineralization and
geological control between drill holes and from section to section
along approximately six kilometres of strike. The inferred resource
is open to the north, northeast and south, and eastward to the
erosional edge of the Birch Mountains over a large area with thin
overburden cover where mineralization intermittently outcrops at
surface or is intermittently exposed throughout several kilometres
of valley walls.
The Resource Study concludes that the Buckton
South maiden inferred resource is mineralization which has a
reasonable prospect for extraction in the future. This resource
comprises all Labiche and Second White Speckled Shale resource
blocks which are beneath less than 75m of overburden cover, and for
which the combined gross value of recoverable contained
Mo-Ni-U-V-Zn-Co-Cu-Li-REEs-Y-Th-Sc exceeds the base cut-off of
US$10 per tonne relying on the best
achieved metals recoveries as reported from the collective of DNI's
leaching testwork. Metal prices used are the trailing 2yr, 3yr and
5yr year commodity price averages as tabulated below. The inferred
resource is distributed between the upper and lower portions of the
Buckton South Zone as follows (also tabulated separately below):
407 million short tons (369 million metric tonnes) in the lower
grade portion hosted in the Labiche Formation ranging 16m-62m in
thickness, and 141 million short tons (128 million metric tonnes)
in the higher grade portion beneath it hosted in the Second White
Speckled Shale Formation which ranges 11m-18m in thickness.
Buckton South
Initial Maiden Inferred Mineral Resource
Upper Portion - in Labiche Formation |
Mineralized Shale (tons) |
406,755,000 |
|
MoO3 |
Ni |
U3O8 |
V2O5 |
Zn |
Cu |
Co |
Li2CO3 |
Raw Grade (ppm) |
2.6 |
50.3 |
5.1 |
494.0 |
153.2 |
33.9 |
13.3 |
373.1 |
Recovery % |
55 |
80 |
75 |
10 |
75 |
65 |
80 |
40 |
Recoverable Grade (ppm) |
1.4 |
40.3 |
3.8 |
49.4 |
114.9 |
22.0 |
10.6 |
149.2 |
Metal/Oxide Price* (US$/lb) |
17.63 |
9.07 |
68.99 |
7.67 |
0.90 |
3.29 |
22.39 |
2.68 |
Recoverable metal/oxide (kg) |
531,000 |
14,852,000 |
1,415,000 |
18,227,000 |
42,393,000 |
8,135,000 |
3,925,000 |
55,071,000 |
Recoverable metal/oxide (lbs) |
1,171,000 |
32,743,000 |
3,120,000 |
40,184,000 |
93,460,000 |
17,935,000 |
8,653,000 |
121,411,000 |
|
|
La2O3 |
Ce2O3 |
Pr2O3 |
Nd2O3 |
Sm2O3 |
Eu2O3 |
Gd2O3 |
Tb2O3 |
Raw Grade (ppm) |
43.7 |
78.6 |
9.7 |
35.9 |
6.9 |
1.5 |
5.7 |
0.9 |
Recovery % |
15 |
25 |
30 |
35 |
50 |
55 |
60 |
60 |
Recoverable Grade (ppm) |
6.6 |
19.6 |
2.9 |
12.6 |
3.5 |
0.8 |
3.4 |
0.5 |
Metal/Oxide Prices** US$/kg) |
42.84 |
47.40 |
114.98 |
128.61 |
58.66 |
1,872.65 |
83.70 |
1,551.08 |
Recoverable Oxide (kg) |
2,418,000 |
7,247,000 |
1,074,000 |
4,641,000 |
1,277,000 |
299,000 |
1,261,000 |
202,000 |
Recoverable Oxide (lb) |
5,331,000 |
15,977,000 |
2,368,000 |
10,232,000 |
2,815,000 |
659,000 |
2,780,000 |
445,000 |
|
|
Dy2O3 |
Ho2O3 |
Er2O3 |
Tm2O3 |
Yb2O3 |
Lu2O3 |
Y2O3 |
Sc2O3 |
ThO2 |
Raw Grade (ppm) |
5.4 |
1.1 |
3.2 |
0.5 |
3.2 |
0.7 |
33.2 |
23.4 |
11.9 |
Recovery % |
60 |
60 |
50 |
50 |
45 |
55 |
55 |
30 |
30 |
Recoverable Grade (ppm) |
3.2 |
0.6 |
1.6 |
0.2 |
1.4 |
0.4 |
18.2 |
7.0 |
3.6 |
Metal/Oxide Prices** US$/kg) |
864.09 |
205.82 |
197.35 |
$97.00 |
100.63 |
1,024.09 |
81.73 |
3,881.39 |
252.00 |
Recoverable Oxide (kg) |
1,195,000 |
234,000 |
585,000 |
90,000 |
535,000 |
142,000 |
6,728,000 |
2,591,000 |
1,312,000 |
Recoverable Oxide (lb) |
2,635,000 |
516,000 |
1,290,000 |
198,000 |
1,179,000 |
313,000 |
14,833,000 |
5,712,000 |
2,892,000 |
*Metal/Oxide
commodity prices used to establish bulk recoverable values for
cut-off grade thresholding tests are the five year trailing average
to Oct/2012.
**Metal/Oxide commodity prices used to establish bulk
recoverable values for cut-off grade thresholding tests are the
three year trailing average to Oct/2012 for La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Gd Tb
Dy Y; three year trailing average to Aug/2011 for Tm; Th per
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009-2011, the two year
trailing average to Oct/2012 for Ho Er Yb Lu Sc. Metal prices vary
among various commodity information sources and, in all conflicting
instances, the lower pricing was used. The 2012 drilling
included an appropriate number of analytical standards, blanks and
duplicates, and no analytical issues were identified. ton=short
ton; lb=pound; kg=Kilogram; Recoverable metal/oxide stated to
nearest 1000kg or 1000lb. Figures may not add exactly due to
rounding. |
Buckton South
Initial Maiden Inferred Mineral Resource
Lower Portion - in Second White Speckled Shale
Formation |
Mineralized Shale (tons) |
140,761,000 |
|
MoO3 |
Ni |
U3O8 |
V2O5 |
Zn |
Cu |
Co |
Li2CO3 |
Raw Grade (ppm) |
93.3 |
132.1 |
31.1 |
1375.6 |
275.8 |
85.7 |
20.7 |
362.3 |
Recovery % |
50% |
90% |
90% |
40% |
90% |
60% |
90% |
50% |
Recoverable Grade (ppm) |
46.7 |
118.9 |
28.0 |
550.2 |
248.3 |
51.4 |
18.6 |
181.2 |
Metal/Oxide Price* (US$/lb) |
17.63 |
9.07 |
68.99 |
7.67 |
0.90 |
3.29 |
22.39 |
2.68 |
Recoverable metal/oxide (kg) |
5,959,000 |
15,182,000 |
3,578,000 |
70,262,000 |
31,702,000 |
6,565,000 |
2,374,000 |
23,133,000 |
Recoverable metal/oxide (lbs) |
13,137,000 |
33,471,000 |
7,888,000 |
154,901,000 |
69,891,000 |
14,473,000 |
5,234,000 |
50,999,000 |
|
|
La2O3 |
Ce2O3 |
Pr2O3 |
Nd2O3 |
Sm2O3 |
Eu2O3 |
Gd2O3 |
Tb2O3 |
Raw Grade (ppm) |
55.2 |
90.0 |
12.7 |
49.4 |
10.1 |
2.2 |
9.6 |
1.5 |
Recovery % |
70% |
70% |
65% |
70% |
85% |
85% |
85% |
90% |
Recoverable Grade (ppm) |
38.6 |
63.0 |
8.3 |
34.6 |
8.6 |
1.9 |
8.2 |
1.3 |
Metal/Oxide Prices** US$/kg) |
42.84 |
47.40 |
114.98 |
128.61 |
58.66 |
1,872.65 |
83.70 |
1,551.08 |
Recoverable Oxide (kg) |
4,935,000 |
8,045,000 |
1,054,000 |
4,414,000 |
1,095,000 |
241,000 |
1,044,000 |
170,000 |
Recoverable Oxide (lb) |
10,880,000 |
17,736,000 |
2,324,000 |
9,731,000 |
2,414,000 |
531,000 |
2,302,000 |
375,000 |
|
|
Dy2O3 |
Ho2O3 |
Er2O3 |
Tm2O3 |
Yb2O3 |
Lu2O3 |
Y2O3 |
Sc2O3 |
ThO2 |
Raw Grade (ppm) |
8.6 |
1.6 |
4.6 |
0.7 |
4.3 |
0.6 |
57.0 |
17.6 |
11.6 |
Recovery % |
90% |
75% |
90% |
75% |
75% |
75% |
90% |
55% |
80% |
Recoverable Grade (ppm) |
7.7 |
1.2 |
4.1 |
0.5 |
3.3 |
0.5 |
51.3 |
9.7 |
9.3 |
Metal/Oxide Prices** US$/kg) |
864.09 |
205.82 |
197.35 |
$97.00 |
100.63 |
1,024.09 |
81.73 |
3,881.39 |
252.00 |
Recoverable Oxide (kg) |
984,000 |
154,000 |
524,000 |
64,000 |
416,000 |
62,000 |
6,545,000 |
1,237,000 |
1,185,000 |
Recoverable Oxide (lb) |
2,169,000 |
340,000 |
1,155,000 |
141,000 |
917,000 |
137,000 |
14,429,000 |
2,727,000 |
2,612,000 |
*Metal/Oxide
commodity prices used to establish bulk recoverable values for
cut-off grade thresholding tests are the five year trailing average
to Oct/2012.
**Metal/Oxide commodity prices used to establish bulk
recoverable values for cut-off grade thresholding tests are the
three year trailing average to Oct/2012 for La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Gd Tb
Dy Y; three year trailing average to Aug/2011 for Tm; Th per
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009-2011, the two year
trailing average to Oct/2012 for Ho Er Yb Lu Sc. Metal prices vary
among various commodity information sources and, in all conflicting
instances, the lower pricing was used. The 2012 drilling
included an appropriate number of analytical standards, blanks and
duplicates, and no analytical issues were identified. ton=short
ton; lb=pound; kg=Kilogram; Recoverable metal/oxide stated to
nearest 1000kg or 1000lb. Figures may not add exactly due to
rounding. |
Modeling and estimation of the Buckton South
maiden resource was carried out using 3-dimensional block model
based on geostatistical applications using commercial mine planning
software MICROMINE (v12.5.4). The model relies on an aggregate of
three vertical core holes drilled by DNI in 2012 which are spaced
approximately 860m to 1.8km (averaging 1.3 km). Most of the
mineralized black shale within the area drilled lies beneath less
than 75m of overburden till and meet cut-off threshold criteria for
classification as an inferred resource. The mineralized black shale
in the area also shows good lateral uniformity for many of the
contained metals over large distances across the Property. The
spacing and number of holes are considered sufficient for the
determination of inferred resources, and extrapolation of grades
between the drill holes is supported by statistical variography
examined during the Resource Study.
Considering that bench scale leaching tests
completed by DNI to date on samples from the Labiche and Second
White Speckled Shale formations report different recoveries for the
metals of interest, the resource modeling treated the two shale
units separately. According to the foregoing scheme, the Buckton
South Zone assay file was composited using MICROMINE into separate
sub-domains where the analytical data were assigned to composite
sample files comprising 99 composite samples for the Labiche
sub-domain (at 1.0m intervals) and 41 composite samples for the
Second White Speckled Shale sub-domain (at 1.0m intervals).
Due to the limited number of drill holes over
the Buckton South Zone, variography was not performed to determine
the orientation and continuity of mineralization. A nominal range
of 600mx600mx5m, which was based on the existing drill hole spacing
and the observed grade continuity documented from the Buckton Zone
was instead applied to the first pass search ellipsoid. As a result
of the wide drill hole spacing, a parent model block size of
250mx250mx2m was chosen for the resource estimate. The block size
emulates those that were used in the most recent resource study for
the Buckton Zone, and the block model extents were extended far
enough past the mineralized wireframe to encompass the entire
domain. The recoverable grades for the metals were translated into
a US$ value for each block and sub-block relying on the best metals
recoveries achieved per DNI's leaching tests and trailing average
metal/oxide prices as noted in footnotes to the above tables, and
the values were aggregated into a collective gross recoverable
value for each block and sub-block to enable testing against a
block value base case cut-off of US$10 per tonne.
While the collective work from the Buckton South
Zone indicate that none of the metals contained in the Zone occurs
in sufficiently high enough concentration to be of economic merit
by itself, the metals of interest collectively represent sufficient
recoverable gross value on a combined basis to place the mineral
resource identified at the Zone within reach of economic viability
provided the metals are efficiently recovered on a combined basis.
DNI's leaching testwork has already demonstrated that the metals
can be collectively extracted from the shale but clear
communication of overall bulk grade has been a challenge
considering the polymetallic nature of the mineralization of merit.
In the foregoing regard, the Resource Study notes, with concurrence
from DNI, that given the absence of a single metal to represent
bulk of the overall recoverable value of the mineralized shale,
reporting of its overall grade as a traditional "metal equivalent"
would be arbitrary and misleading.
Of necessity, the Resource Study has,
accordingly, opted instead to communicate overall grade by
aggregating the individual gross recoverable values represented by
each of the metals of interest into a single gross recoverable
total per tonne value to characterize the resource and enable its
discussion and testing against a base cut-off for the purposes of
resource estimation. The reader is cautioned that disclosure of
gross values discussed in this announcement and in the Resource
Study does not comply with Section 2.3(1c) of National Instrument
43-101 since the figures are gross and the term may be misleading
in the absence of proven production costs. The recoverable
gross values are quoted for convenience of communicating overall
grade and are otherwise conceptual in nature and do not represent
economic worth of the resource being reported from the Buckton
South Zone. The reader is also reminded that the values are based
on recoverable metal grades per bench scale leaching tests and do
not imply that economic viability of the recoveries has been
determined and they may not reflect actual recoveries which might
be achieved in an ultimate mineral production operation.
Polymetallic black shale is an emerging deposit
type which has gained recognition over the past decade mainly due
to advances in application of bioleaching procedures to extract low
grade metals from shale by bulk heapleaching. Worldwide, there is
one active mining operation extracting polymetals via
bio-heapleaching and two other scoping stage projects that are
exploring/developing polymetallic deposits in black shale. These
operations provide the only resource estimation and operating cost
guidelines, particularly with respect to base cut-off values, that
are relevant to evaluating the mineral resource hosted in the
Buckton South Zone.
The US$10 per
tonne base cut-off used by the Resource Study is considered to be a
reasonable benchmark which is higher than cut-offs utilized by
recent mineral resource estimates and a scoping study for other
open pit mineable poly-metallic black shales in Sweden and Finland as the break-even point and lower
cut-off. This base cut-off incorporates operating costs from the
only available operation worldwide of bulk mining and
bioheapleaching exploitation of a polymetallic black shale deposit,
and includes a nominal cost for refining of REEs into final
saleable products relying on estimates from other REE projects.
Considering a scenario of possible open pit mining in northeast
Alberta along the eastern edge of
the Birch Mountains, with potential for a low strip ratio at
startup, the likely free-dig nature of the poorly consolidated
shale bedrock, the potential for easy access to multiple working
faces, the location of the project with respect to access, power
and other important infrastructure, the US$10 per tonne base lower cut-off value is
considered reasonable for the purposes of mineral resource
estimation as a base case cut-off threshold which also captures a
relatively continuous mineralized zone with favourable bulk mining
configuration.
DNI's bench scale leaching testwork demonstrated
that mineralization contained in the black shales at the Buckton
and Buckton South Zones is recoverable by a single bulk leaching
method from the shale and that REEs and Specialty Metals are
incidentally leached from the shale as co-products of leaching of
base metals. The Resource Study notes that REEs account for a
significant proportion of the recoverable gross value of the
resource, especially for mineralization in the Labiche shale, and
concludes that ultimate economics of the resource are, accordingly,
subject to uncertainties of long term REE pricing and viability of
demand, the unknown effect of new production on REE markets, and
the cost of separating REEs from pregnant leaching solutions once
they have been leached from the shale and their refinement into
saleable final products. Although the base cut-off of US$10 per tonne used in the Resource Study
includes a nominal cost for separation of REEs relying on estimates
from other REE projects, a sensitivity analysis was, nonetheless,
conducted in the Resource Study to investigate sensitivity of the
inferred resource to cost fluctuations by testing the resource
model against progressively higher arbitrary base cut-offs.
The resource model was iterated and tested at
progressively higher arbitrary base cut-offs to determine the
commensurate tonnages that can be classified as mineral resources
against any given base cut-off. The entire shale package resource
model was, accordingly, tested at base cut-offs of US$12, US$14,
US$16, US$18, US$19,
US$20 and US$21 per tonne. The sensitivity analysis
demonstrated that the tonnage and distribution of the shale package
is virtually intact between base cut-offs of US$10 per tonne and approximately US$14 per tonne, and that the aggregate gross
recoverable value of contained metals exceeds the base cut-off, but
that at higher base cut-offs the tonnage of the upper zone hosted
in the Labiche Shale rapidly decreases and distribution of resource
blocks lose cohesion such that at a base cut-off of US$19 per tonne virtually none of the upper
portion of the resource hosted entirely in Labiche Shale can
continue to be classified as a mineral resource since aggregate
gross recoverable value of the contained metals is less than the
cut-off.
The sensitivity analysis successfully
demonstrates that as the spatial distribution of resource within
the upper zone hosted in Labiche Shale decreases, progressively
larger portions of Labiche Shale would be regarded as cover waste
material to be removed for the purposes of any mining operations to
extract the underlying resource in the Second White Speckled Shale
Formation. Considering that distribution of the upper portion of
the resource hosted in Labiche shale will affect distribution and
tonnage of what might be realistically mined from the lower portion
of the resource beneath it hosted in the Second White Speckled
Shale, the resource model was tested at yet higher base cut-offs of
US$40, US$45, US$50,
US$54, US$55, US$56,
US$57, US$58, US$59 and
US$60 per tonne, to simulate a
scenario for which the upper portion of the resource is deemed to
be waste and would have to be removed together with the overburden
to gain access to the underlying higher grade mineralization in the
Second White Speckled Shale. In these iterative scenarios, the
lower portion of the resource hosted in the Speckled Shale is the
only mineralization of interest and the resource identified within
it remains intact between base cut-offs of US$10 per tonne and US$45 per tonne at which cut-off it comprises 132
million short tons (126 million metric tonnes) extending over 3.3
square kilometres. At a base cut-off of US$50 per tonne the resource comprises 112
million short tons (107 million metric tonnes) extending over 3.3
square kilometres, but gradually loses cohesion at base cut-offs
higher than US$50 per tonne such that
at a base cut-off of US$60 per tonne
virtually none of it can be classified as a mineral resource since
the aggregate gross recoverable value of contained metals is less
than the base cut-off.
The Resource Study overall concludes that the
per tonne of recoverable gross value represented by the Labiche and
Second White Speckled Shale resource is sufficiently higher than
the US$10 per tonne base cut-off used
by the Resource Study, and sufficiently higher than the related
iteration of the resource model at higher cut-offs up to
US$14 per tonne, to reasonably
conclude that the Buckton South initial maiden inferred resource is
mineralization that has a reasonable prospect for extraction in the
future.
The Buckton and Buckton South Zones together
dominate the east-central portion of the SBH Property, with a
combined inferred resource of approximately 3.7 billion tonnes
containing recoverable Mo-Ni-U-V-Zn-Co-Cu-Li-REEs-Y-Th-Sc. In the
absence of drilling over the approximately seven kilometres
separating the two Zones, the information on hand does not enable
clear conclusion of whether the Buckton South Zone is a southerly
extension of the Buckton Zone or whether it is a separate
stand-alone Zone by itself. The presence of many surface
geochemical anomalies and mineralized exposures throughout the area
separating the two Zones, and similarity of aggregate gross
recoverable values of resources at the two Zones do, however,
suggest a likely connection between the two Zones which has not yet
been confirmed by drilling.
The Resource Study concludes that the Buckton
South Zone maiden inferred resource has excellent potential for
expansion with further drilling, and recommends implementation of
additional drilling with primary emphasis on expanding the Buckton
South maiden inferred resource and upgrading a portion of it to the
indicated resource class, while also testing the area between the
Buckton and Buckton South Zones to determine whether the two Zones
are connected. The Study also recommends that DNI continue its work
to revise the Buckton Zone mineral resource to expand it by
incorporating recently received assays from the 2012 summer
drilling program.
In a statement Mr. S.Sabag, DNI's president & CEO, commented:
"… we are excited to announce this second mineral resource from our
Property and look forward to further expansion of the Buckton Zone
and the Buckton South Zone resources. We are continuing to advance
the project toward a pilot demonstration stage as planned, and look
forward to concluding preliminary economic assessment of the
Buckton Zone in the months to come".
The Qualified Persons in connection with the
preparation of the Buckton South mineral resource study are Mr. Roy
Eccles PGeol, Mr. Michael Dufresne PGeol and Mr. Steven Nicholls
MAIG who are independent of DNI. The Qualified Person in connection
with this press release and in respect of the Alberta polymetallic black shale projects is
Mr. Shahé F.Sabag PGeo, President and CEO of DNI, who is
responsible for verification and quality assurance of the
exploration information disclosed in connection with the projects
and this release.
Ton=short ton; lb=pound; tonne = metric tonne =
1000kg. The 2012 drill core analyses included an appropriate number
of analytical standards, blanks and duplicates, and no analytical
issues were identified. Metal/Oxide commodity prices used to
establish bulk recoverable values for cut-off grade thresholding
tests are the five year trailing average to October 25, 2012, for Mo-Ni-U-V-Zn-Cu-Co-Li (U
consolidated from www.cameco.com; Li from www.asianmetal.com;
remaining metals from www.metal-pages.com); the three year trailing
average to October 25, 2012, for
La-Ce-Pr-Nd-Sm-Eu-Gd-Tb-Dy-Y (consolidated from
www.metal-pages.com); three year trailing average to August, 2011,
for Tm (from Montviel Core Zone REE resources study 2011 by SGS
Canada Inc.); Th per USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries
2009-2011; the two year trailing average to October 25, 2012, for Ho-Er-Yb-Lu-Sc
(consolidated from www.asianmetal.com). Metal prices vary among
various commodity information sources and in all conflicting
instances the lower pricing was used. Analyses by Activation
Laboratories Ltd., Ancaster, ON; U
and Co analyses by INA, REE-Th by Fusion-MS, all other metals by
ICP or ICP/MS following 4-acid digestion. Analytical results from
the 2012 drilling were announced on Jan31/2013, along with details
of DNI's analytical quality assurance and quality control
parameters.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
DNI - TSX Venture
DG7 - Frankfurt
Issued: 74,857,022
We seek Safe Harbour. This announcement
includes forward looking statements. While these statements
represent DNI's best current judgment, they are subject to risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary,
including risk factors listed in DNI's Annual Information Form and
its MD&As, all of which are available from SEDAR and on its
website.
SOURCE DNI Metals Inc.