TIDMAMC
RNS Number : 0824J
Amur Minerals Corporation
26 June 2017
26 June 2017
AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION
(AIM: AMC)
2017 Inaugural Ikenskoe / Sobolevsky Drill Results
500 Metre Expansion Averaging 0.98% Nickel - 0.28% Copper
Amur Minerals Corporation ("Amur" or the "Company"), a
nickel-copper sulphide mineral exploration and resource development
company focused on the far east of Russia, is pleased to report its
first set of drill results at its Ikenskoe / Sobolevsky ("IKEN")
deposit. Included all results from drilling startup 5 May 2017
through 23 June 2017, an expansion of 500 metres has already been
identified averaging nearly 1.0% nickel and 0.3% copper.
Substantial expansion remains to be tested to the southeast, along
strike in the direction of the Kubuk deposit. The Company is
presently drilling its Kubuk ("KUB") deposit with results scheduled
for reporting during the week of 3 July 2017.
Highlights:
-- Drilling at IKEN is intended to complete five objectives. Two
have been fully completed including mineral limit determination for
mine planning purposes and a single infill hole to confirm the
geological structure of IKEN. This required 7 holes containing 694
total metres.
-- The third objective is resource expansion to the southeast of
the existing Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") of IKEN in the
direction of the KUB deposit located 2,500 metres to the southeast.
Using a widely spaced step out approach testing an area of 500
metres in length, 9 holes have been completed of which 6 holes have
identified a block of continuous newly defined mineralisation
having economic grades of nickel and copper suitable for both open
pit and underground mining.
-- Based on a cutoff grade ("COG") of 0.4% nickel only and a
minimum thickness of 3 metres, the newly defined block of
mineralisation covers an area of 175,000 square metres
(approximately 500 metres in extension length (to the southeast)
and up to 400 metres in the dip direction (to the northeast)). The
average mineralised thickness is 28.5 metres (per ore hole) with
the associated length weighted grades being 0.98% for nickel and
0.28% for copper.
-- The average grade of the newly defined mineralisation is
substantially higher than that of the MRE reported average grades
with nickel being 42% (0.69% versus 0.98%) higher and copper being
65% (0.17% vs versus 0.28%) higher. Based on the substantially
higher grades and size of this new mineral block, there is good
potential to nearly double the currently reported IKEN MRE from
146,000 tonnes of nickel and 36,000 tonnes of copper.
2017 IKEN Drill Programme Objectives
During the season, 5 drill objects are planned for completion at
IKEN. These include:
-- Definition of the potential minerals limits at depth and near
outcrop allowing for the determination of open pit mining limits at
IKEN based on the 10 February 2017 Runge Asia ("RPM") Mineral
Resource Estimate ("MRE"). Completed.
-- Limited infill drilling to identify a fault and localised
mineralisation controls. Completed.
-- Resource expansion programme to the southeast limits of the
presently defined IKEN deposit MRE where previous drill results (2
holes) indicated substantial potential for continuation of the
mineralisation in the eastward direction toward the KUB deposit.
Should results indicate that IKEN and KUB are a single continuous
orebody, the combined length of the intervening as yet undrilled
area could result in a total deposit length of approximately 5.0
kilometres. In Progress.
-- Detailed resource verification drill programme on a limited
(approximately 5% to 10% of the presently defined resource tonnage)
area of the IKEN deposit. This is required by the Russian
authorities for obtaining final mine operations approvals in the
future. Planned.
-- Obtain additional metallurgical sample for use in process flowsheet determination. Planned.
Drill Progress to Date
From 5 May 2017 through 23 June 2017, the Company's LF70 Boart
Longyear rig has drilled 3,132.1 metres of NQ diameter core within
17 holes. (The Company's second drill rig, the LF90 is drilling at
KUB.) A plan map of the drill hole locations and those completed
prior to this year is provided in a link at the end of this
RNS.
IKEN Drill Summary by Objective
Drill Objective Holes Total Average Length
Metres (m)
-------------------------- ------ --------- ---------------
Mineral Limit Definition 6 591.0 98.5
Infill Definition 1 103.0 103.0
Resource Expansion 10 2,438.1 243.8
Russian Mining 0 0 0
Permits
Metallurgical Sample 0 0 0
Collection
-------------------------- ------ --------- ---------------
Total 17 3,132.1 184.2
-------------------------- ------ --------- ---------------
Use of RFA Analytical Results
Analytical results reported within this RNS are internally
generated by the Company using two Niton XL2 500 X-Ray Fluorescence
units ("RFA"). Having been calibrated and verified, the Company
uses these promptly generated onsite results to guide our decisions
for drill site selection providing a cost effective approach with
regard to total drill costs. These RFA results are preliminary in
nature and are ultimately replaced by independently verified Alex
Stewart Laboratories ("ASL") results which are used in the
derivation of MRE's. The RFA results are based on a rigorous and
daily implemented calibration protocol which has historically
confirmed the Company results are within 5% of the ASL final
results for nickel and copper. By reporting these results, Amur can
provide timely results related to our drilling as the final and
official ASL results lag from 6 to 10 weeks behind. Once ASL
results are verified, the ASL results replace the RFA results and
the ASL results will be reported in future RNS releases. Presently,
the first batch of samples for 13 of the IKEN holes is in transit
to the Moscow, Russia located ASL facility.
The Company reports its MRE's using a 0.4% nickel only cutoff
grade ("COG") at a minimum mining thickness of 3.0 metres. The
reported RFA results within this RNS are based on the same
criteria. Internal waste (<0.4% nickel and less than 3.0 metres)
in thickness is also included in the determination of reported
thickness and grade of the contained metal. By inclusion of this
internal dilution, a more accurate representation of potential
mining grades is projected.
Mineral Limit Drill Results
Planned mineral limit drilling is complete and should allow for
the determination of open pit production limits within the existing
resource model dated 10 February 2017. All but one hole were
located along the area anticipated to be the northeast limit of
open pit mining. The one exception was to define the location of
the up dip outcrop at the southern edge of the anticipated open
pit. For these 6 holes, it is noted that the average thickness per
mineral interval is 4.4 metres with the average thickness contained
in a hole intersecting ore being 5.5 metres. These thicknesses are
substantially less than the 10 to 15 metre thicknesses identified
with the IKEN deposit. The average grade is projected to be 0.75%
nickel and 0.19% copper.
Average Drill Results
Mineral Limit Determination
Drill From To Length Ni Cu
Hole (m) (m) (m) % %
---------- ---------- ------- ------- ----- -----
340 No Ore
------------------------------------------
341 86.6 92.4 5.8 0.65 0.11
342 81.0 84.0 3.0 0.60 0.20
343 83.7 86.7 3.0 1.10 0.24
344 51.4 54.4 3.0 0.40 0.21
344 62.0 69.0 7.0 0.89 0.21
---------- ------- ------- ----- -----
345 No Ore
------------------------------------------
5.5 m
Average 4.4 m / / Ore
Or Total Interval Hole 21.8 0.75 0.19
---------- ---------- ------- ------- ----- -----
Infill Drill Results
The IKEN deposit has been drilled in accordance to JORC
(December 2012) standards. Approximately 78% of the mineralised
tonnage is considered to be Measured or Indicated by JORC category.
The majority of the Inferred resource is located to the north and
east of the main IKEN deposit as defined 10 February 2017. The
infill drill programme has been limited to a single hole intended
to define the geological structure and mineral controls in a
geologically complex area where a fault has been interpreted to be
present. This hole contains two discrete intervals averaging 11.6 m
each and containing a total of 23.1 metres of mineral having 0.66%
nickel and 0.27% copper average grades. Mineralisation is located
very near the surface (at 4.0 metres depth) confirming the open pit
potential indicated by existing historical drilling.
Average Drill Results
Infill Drill Results
Drill From To Length Ni Cu
Hole (m) (m) (m) % %
346 4.0 13.5 9.5 0.72 0.29
346 24.0 37.6 13.6 0.62 0.25
23.1 m
Average 11.6 m / / Ore
Or Total Interval Hole 23.1 0.66 0.27
---------- ---------- ------- ------- ----- -----
Resource Expansion Drill Results
The resource expansion phase has proven to be highly
successful.
Immediately to the southeast of IKEN, two historical holes
located on the slopes of Sobolevsky Peak and immediately adjacent
the known limits of the deposit contained drill intercepts of 43.6
metres and 48.9 metres of mineralisation. The average nickel grade
within the two holes was 0.82% and 1.06%, respectively. Between
these two holes and the KUB deposit, soil geochemical analyses,
ground based geophysical surveys and geological mapping have
provided limited but indicative information similar to that of the
Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy ("MKF") deposit, confirming the potential
continuity of mineralisation toward and along the trend between
IKEN and KUB. For this reason, the intervening 2.5 kilometre long
area represents potential large target for drilling and has been
given a drill priority for this season. The recent acquisitions of
D9R dozers and 320DL2 excavators have allowed the Company to
construct access roads to this target area which previously was
inaccessible to drilling due to the very rugged and steep
terrain.
On 19 May 2017 and using a step out approach, the Company began
this resource expansion drill phase at IKEN. Ten holes have now
been completed for which RFA results are available for 9 holes. Of
these 9 holes, 6 have intersected mineable ore thicknesses (>3.0
metres) and grades of (>0.4% nickel only) mineralisation. The
drill intercepts have defined a mineralised block averaging 28.5
meters in thickness with length weighted average grades of 0.98%
for nickel and 0.28% for copper. The continuous block covers an
area of 175,000 square metres extending the mineral limits
approximately 500 metres.
This newly defined block is higher in grade (by 0.29% for nickel
and 0.11% for copper) than the average grade of the IKEN deposit
which is reported by RPM to be 0.69% nickel and 0.17% copper. The
10 February 2017 RPM defined IKEN resource contains 146,000 tonnes
of nickel. Drill results from these 6 ore holes could result in a
doubling to the contained MRE IKEN nickel and copper tonnage
resource
Mineral limits have not been defined along the north edge (in
the down dip direction, northward) and along strike (eastward) in
the direction of KUB. The Company plans to continue expansion
drilling within and adjacent the area of newly defined mineral
block to ensure continuity of the mineralisation and to conduct
additional step out drilling toward Kubuk. Concurrently, step out
drilling has been initiated at KUB at its western limits in the
direction of IKEN. KUB results will be reported in an RNS during
the week of 3 July 2017.
The detailed IKEN expansion drill results are presented in the
following table. A link to a plan maps and drill sections is
presented at the end of this RNS.
Average Drill Results
Resource Expansion Drill Results
Drill From To Length Ni Cu
Hole (m) (m) (m) % %
---------- ---------- -------- ------- ----- -----
347 39.6 51.2 11.6 1.14 0.25
----------
57.2 76.4 19.2 1.02 0.29
---------- ---------- -------- ------- ----- -----
348 146.8 167.4 20.6 1.14 0.32
----------
182.6 185.6 3.0 0.61 0.17
---------- ---------- -------- ------- ----- -----
349 74.4 87.9 13.5 0.92 0.35
----------
146.3 153.8 7.5 0.65 0.29
---------- ---------- -------- ------- ----- -----
350 No Ore
No Ore
No Ore
---------- -------------------------------------------
351
---------- ---------- -------- ------- ----- -----
C352
---------- ---------- -------- ------- ----- -----
353 238.1 244.8 6.7 0.98 0.28
----------
252.5 274.4 21.9 0.84 0.24
---------- ---------- -------- ------- ----- -----
354 196.6 225.9 29.3 1.04 0.28
----------
254.2 262.8 8.6 0.60 0.29
---------- ---------- -------- ------- ----- -----
C355 286.4 295.2 8.8 1.01 0.36
----------
299.1 319.3 20.2 1.14 0.25
---------- ---------- -------- ------- ----- -----
C356 RFA Results Pending
---------- -------------------------------------------
Average 14.2 m/ 28.5 m
or Total Interval / Hole 170.9 0.98 0.28
---------- ---------- -------- ------- ----- -----
Robin Young, CEO of Amur Minerals, commented:
"With pleasure, we report a highly successful kick off to our
2017 drill season which started ahead of schedule. With the early
start, we have been able to begin our resource expansion portion of
the drill programme at Kun-Manie sooner than anticipated. Highly
successful drilling has extended the Ikenskoe / Sobolevsky deposit
by another 500 metres along a target area of 2,500 metres which
lies between this deposit and Kubuk where we are now beginning to
conduct resource expansion drilling along the eastern limits of
this same 2,500 metre target.
"Based on the current drilling at Ikenskoe / Sobolevsky alone,
we believe that we have already doubled the resource for this
deposit and are looking at substantially higher grades of 0.98%
nickel within this new mineral block which are much higher than the
0.69% current average grade of the deposit. Additional step out
drilling will be continued in both the dip direction and to the
east where mineral limits have not yet been defined."
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this
announcement.
Enquiries:
Company Nomad and Broker Public Relations
Amur Minerals S.P. Angel Corporate Yellow Jersey
Corp. Finance LLP
Robin Young Ewan Leggat Charles Goodwin
CEO Soltan Tagiev Harriet Jackson
+44(0)7747
+7(4212)755615 +44(0)2034 700 470 788 221
For additional information, visit the Company's website,
www.amurminerals.com.
Please follow the links at the end of this RNS to view figures
depicting drill hole locations of the drill holes completed as at
23 June 2017.
Notes to Editors
The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed
and approved by the CEO of Amur, Mr. Robin Young. Mr. Young is a
Geological Engineer (cum laude), a Professional Geologist licensed
by the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing,
and is a Qualified Professional Geologist, as defined by the
Toronto and Vancouver Stock Exchanges. An employee of Amur for 13
years, previously Mr. Young was employed as an exploration and mine
geologist, mining engineer, construction manager of a mine startup
as well as independent consultant with Fluor Engineers, Fluor
Australia and Western Services Engineering, Inc. during which time
his responsibilities included the independent compilation of
resources and reserves in accordance with JORC standards. In
addition, he has been the lead engineer and project manager in the
compilation of numerous studies and projects requiring the
compilation of independent Bankable Studies utilised to finance
small to large scale projects located worldwide. Mr. Young is
responsible for the content of this announcement.
For further information, see the Company website at
www.amurminerals.com.
Ikenskoe / Sobolevsky Drill Progress Summary Report
As at 23 June 2017
Hole Results Objective Depth To ASL
(m)
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C340 RFA Down Dip 113.0 Yes
Limit
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C341 RFA Down Dip 113.0 Yes
Limit
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C342 RFA Down Dip 115.0 Yes
Limit
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C343 RFA Down Dip 100.0 Yes
Limit
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C344 RFA Down Dip 90.0 Yes
Limit
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C345 RFA Outcrop 60.0 Yes
Limit
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C346 RFA Infill 103.0 Yes
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C347 RFA Expansion 115.0 Yes
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C348 RFA Expansion 205.0 Yes
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C349 RFA Expansion 221.5 Yes
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C350 RFA Expansion 190.0 Yes
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C351 RFA Expansion 193.0 Yes
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C352 RFA Expansion 250.0 At Site
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C353 RFA Expansion 295.0 At Site
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C354 RFA Expansion 313.0 At Site
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C355 RFA Expansion 328.0 At Site
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
C356 In Analysis Expansion 277.0 At Site
------- ------------- ----------- -------- --------
Total 3,081.5
----------------------------------- -------- --------
Glossary
DEFINITIONS OF EXPLORATION RESULTS, RESOURCES & RESERVES
EXTRACTED FROM THE JORC CODE: (December 2012) (www.jorc.org)
A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of
material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the Earth's crust
in such form, quality and quantity that there are reasonable
prospects for 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, in order of increasing geological confidence, into
Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.
An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral
Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be
estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from
geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological and/or
grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through
appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches,
pits, workings and drill holes which may be limited or of uncertain
quality and reliability.
An 'Indicated Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral
Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical
characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a
reasonable level of confidence. It is based on exploration,
sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate
techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits,
workings and drill holes. The locations are too widely or
inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade
continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be
assumed.
A 'Measured Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource
for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics,
grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of
confidence. It is based on detailed and reliable exploration,
sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate
techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits,
workings and drill holes. The locations are spaced closely enough
to confirm geological and/or grade continuity.
An 'Ore Reserve' is the economically mineable part of a Measured
and/or Indicated Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials
and allowances for losses which may occur when the material is
mined. Appropriate assessments and studies have been carried out,
and include consideration of and modification by realistically
assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal,
environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments
demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction could
reasonably be justified. Ore Reserves are sub-divided in order of
increasing confidence into Probable Ore Reserves and Proved Ore
Reserves.
Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to
view the associated PDF document and audio file.
http://amurminerals.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2017-Drill-Results-23-June-Ikenskoe.pdf
http://amurminerals.com/content/wp-content/uploads/26-June-2017-RNS-Update-Ikenskoe.mp3
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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