TIDMBZM
RNS Number : 8098N
Bellzone Mining PLC
08 September 2011
8 September 2011
Bellzone Mining plc
("Bellzone" or the "Company")
Kalia Mine Resource
Highlights:
-- 74% increase in JORC upgradeable oxide material (from 111mt
at 38% Fe to 193mt at 38.6% Fe)
-- Oxide material can be readily beneficiated using a standard
gravity process to produce 70.1mt of saleable 58% Fe oxide product
(previously 43mt at 58% Fe)
-- An additional Supergene BIF inferred JORC resource of 92.5mt
at 36.5% Fe of a friable and weathered material
-- Preliminary testwork indicates the Supergene BIF ("SBIF") is
readily upgraded using standard magnetic recovery processes to an
average grade of 63.4% Fe, with an average recovery of 40%
-- Oxide and SBIF resource identified on 5.8 km(2) of Kalia's 55
km(2) surface oxide potential
-- Surface oxide will be part of the magnetite pre-strip prior
to magnetite production
Bellzone Mining plc (AIM:BZM), is pleased to announce a 74%
increase in the inferred JORC oxide resource at its 100% owned
Kalia Mine Project in Guinea, West Africa. The resource has been
increased from 111mt grading at 38% Fe to 193 million tonnes
grading 38.6% Fe.
The Kalia Mine Project has a current total iron ore resource
of:
Tonnes Product Tonnes Product Grade
'm Grade Fe 'm Fe
------------------------- ------- --------- --------------- --------------
Inferred Oxide JORC
Resource 193 38.6% 70.1 58.0%
------------------------- ------- --------- --------------- --------------
Inferred SBIF JORC
Resource 92.5 36.5% 37* 63.4%*
------------------------- ------- --------- --------------- --------------
Measured, Indicated and
Inferred BIF JORC
Resource 3,050 25.9% 969.9 68.3%
------------------------- ------- --------- --------------- --------------
Inferred Schist JORC
Resource 690 10.0% 28.6 63.7%
------------------------- ------- --------- --------------- --------------
*estimations have been made on preliminary testwork results
Infill drilling has extended the high grade zones and depth
extensions of the oxide material. The ongoing metallurgical
testwork programme is focused on flowsheet optimisation and
providing additional confidence in the product outcome.
The newly identified SBIF is a partially oxidised transition
zone located above the magnetite JORC zones and below the surface
oxide JORC zone. This 92.5mt resource is friable and initial
metallurgical testwork has shown the material to readily upgrade to
a product with an average grade of +63% Fe. The average recovery
achieved is 40%.
The two products that can be developed from the oxide and SBIF
zones have provided the Company with an opportunity to assess
producing a blended product. Current testwork has indicated a blend
of 30% SBIF product and 70% oxide product will provide a blended
product that will meet market requirements.
Preliminary product composition
MATERIAL Fe SiO2 Al2O3 P S
------------------ ------ ------ ------ ------- ------
Oxide Product 58.0% 4.0% 5.7% 0.100% 0.08%
------------------ ------ ------ ------ ------- ------
SBIF Product* 63.4% 10.4% 0.2% 0.027% 0.16%
------------------ ------ ------ ------ ------- ------
Blended Product* 59.6% 5.9% 4.1% 0.076% 0.1%
------------------ ------ ------ ------ ------- ------
*estimations have been made on preliminary testwork results
The ongoing testwork programme will continue to further refine
the product qualities and blend ratios to ensure a quality product
will be produced from the Kalia resources.
The Company's ongoing oxide development plan continues to target
1.5 billion tonnes (+0.6 billion tonnes or 20 years of saleable
oxide product) of oxide resource from five key target areas
comprising 63% of Kaila's 55km(2) surface oxide potential. The
Company is targeting 200 - 250 million tonnes of resource (10 years
of oxide production) for inclusion in the Definitive Feasibility
Study.
Nik Zuks, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Today's Kalia
JORC oxide increase has been established only a matter of months
after we announced our maiden oxide JORC resource in May 2011. This
74% increase in our oxide resource and the addition of the high
grading supergene BIF product, which has been established on 10.5%
of our target 55km(2) surface oxide potential, continues to
underpin the Kalia oxide product potential. The flexibility to
blend these products to produce a high quality product continues to
increase the value of the project outcomes. I am confident our
ongoing oxide resource development programme will continue to
deliver as expected."
Enquiries:
Bellzone Mining plc
Nik Zuks/Graham Fyfe +61 (0) 8 9420 8900
Canaccord Genuity Limited
Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker
to Bellzone +44 (0)20 7050 6500
Andrew Chubb/Tarica Mpinga
Renaissance Capital Limited
Joint Broker to Bellzone +44 (0)20 7367 7777
Jeremy Wrathall
Tavistock (UK)
Jos Simson/Paul Youens +44 (0)20 7 9203 150 / +44 (0)7899
870 450
PPR (Australia)
David Ikin +61 (0) 8 9388 0944 / +61 (0)
408 438 772
CSA Global UK, the independent geologists have established and
certified the Company's JORC complaint oxide, Supergene BIF and
magnetite resource for Kalia.
The mineral resource information disclosed in this announcement
has been reviewed by Galen White (MAusIMM), Principal Consultant of
CSA Global. Mr White is a member of the Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy and is qualified as a Competent Person in
terms of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration
Results, Mineral resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code 2004
Edition). Mr White has sufficient experience relevant to the style
of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to
the activity which he is undertaking, to qualify as a Competent
Person for the purposes of this announcement.
About Bellzone Mining Plc
Bellzone Mining plc is an exploration and resource development
company with iron ore and nickel / copper permits in the Republic
of Guinea, West Africa.
Kalia Mine
The Company's flagship project, the Kalia Mine Project, is
planned to commence production in 2014 and be producing iron ore
and iron ore concentrate at a rate of 50 million tonnes per annum
in 2018. The Kalia Mine Project has a 3.74 billion tonne magnetite
JORC resource and an oxide JORC resource of 193 million tonnes. A
Supergene BIF JORC resource of 92.5 million tonnes at 36.5% Fe has
been delineated and shows the potential to upgrade to produce 37
million tonnes of 63% Fe material. The oxide and Supergene BIF
resources have been established from just 10.5% of the 55km(2) of
the mapped surface oxides on the Kalia permit. Drilling results and
internal estimates indicate that the Kalia Mine Project has the
potential to host more than 10 billion tonne of magnetite and 2
billion tonne of oxide.
CIF - Project, Financing & Infrastructure Partner
Bellzone has a Definitive Agreement ("Agreement") with China
International Fund Limited ("CIF"). The Agreement gives CIF right
of first refusal to purchase the Kalia Mine Project's production at
market rates and CIF commits to providing Bellzone commercially
related funding for the development of the Kalia Mine Project.
The Agreement contains CIF's commitment to fund and build
commercially operated rail and port infrastructure that will enable
Bellzone to export production from the Kalia Mine Project. The
infrastructure is being developed by Kalia Horizon Minerals Pte
Limited, an entity that is 90% owned by CIF with Bellzone having a
10% carried interest. The Agreement provides for Bellzone to be the
lowest cost user with permanent priority access.
Forecariah JV
Bellzone and CIF also have fully funded a joint venture to
undertake the accelerated exploration and development programme at
CIF's Forecariah iron permits that lie between 30 and 80 kilometres
from the Guinea coast. Production is scheduled to start in Q1 2012
with an initial production rate of 3-4 mtpa of oxide ore, ramping
to a rate of 10 mtpa in 2013.
Other activities
Bellzone has completed a mapping and surface sampling programme
identifying highly prospective targets at its Sadeka Nickel/Copper
Project. A VTEM aerial survey is currently being conducted to
further define areas for a targeted drilling programme.
Bellzone has acquired the rights to buy 70% of Compagnie Miniere
de L'Ouest Africain SA, incorporated and holding tenements in Mali.
The company is undertaking geological studies on the tenements
which are prospective for iron ore before making an investment
decision.
GLOSSARY
"Al2O3" Aluminium Oxide
"BIF" banded iron formation
"Fe" Chemical symbol for Iron
"Indicated Mineral Resource" as defined in the JORC Code,
is that part of a Mineral Resource
which has been sampled by drill
holes, underground openings
or other sampling procedures
at locations that are too widely
spaced to ensure continuity
but close enough to give a reasonable
indication of continuity and
where geoscientific data are
known with a reasonable degree
of reliability. An Indicated
Mineral Resource will be based
on more data and therefore will
be more reliable than an Inferred
Mineral Resource estimate
"Inferred Mineral Resource" as defined in the JORC Code,
is that part of a Mineral Resource
for which the tonnage and grade
and mineral content can be estimated
with a low level of confidence.
It is inferred from the geological
evidence and has assumed but
not verified geological and/or
grade continuity. It is based
on information gathered through
the appropriate techniques from
locations such as outcrops,
trenches, pits, workings and
drill holes which may be limited
or of uncertain quality and
reliability
"JORC" Joint Ore Reserve Committee.
An internationally recognised
method of classifying mineral
resources
"Magnetite" An oxide mineral (Fe3O4). The
most common ferromagnetic mineral
and principal ore
"Measured Mineral Resource" defined in the JORC Code, as
that part of a Measured Mineral
Resource for which the resource
has been intersected and tested
by drill holes, underground
openings or other sampling procedures
at locations which are spaced
closely enough to confirm continuity
and where geoscientific data
are reliably known. A Measured
Mineral Resource estimate will
be based on a substantial amount
of reliable data
"Mineral Resource" a concentration or occurrence
of material of intrinsic economic
interest in or on the earth's
crust in such a form that there
are reasonable prospects for
the eventual economic extraction.
The location, quantity, grade,
geological characteristics and
continuity of a mineral resource
are known, estimated or interpreted
from specific geological evidence
and knowledge. Mineral Resources
are sub-divided into Inferred
Mineral Resources, Indicated
Mineral Resources and Measured
Mineral Resources
"Oxide" ore containing oxides of iron,
chiefly haematite, goethite
and magnetite
"P" Chemical symbol for Phosphorous
"Schist" a group of medium-grade metamorphic
rocks, chiefly notable for the
preponderance of lamellar minerals.
Schist is characteristically
foliated, meaning the individual
mineral grains split off easily
into flakes or slabs
"S" Chemical symbol for Sulphur
Supergene BIF BIF material that is weathered
and more friable with an enriched
Fe % compared to BIF in the
magnetite resource.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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