IMAGE RESOURCES TARGETING ORE RESERVE UPGRADE AT BOONANARRING IN RESPONSE TO SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN EXPECTED ORE GRADES
ASX Announcement 14 March 2019
Image Resources NL (ASX: IMA) (“Image” or “the Company”) is pleased to advise that the Company will be embarking on a drilling and study programme (“Programme”) aimed at upgrading the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates at its 100%- owned, high-grade, zircon-rich Boonanarring mineral sands project located 80 km north of Perth in the infrastructure-rich North Perth Basin in Western Australia, in response to substantially higher realised heavy mineral (HM) ore grades and associated actual heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) production across the first three months of production.
The objective of the Programme is to appropriately delineate an apparent high-grade sub-set or core section (“Core”) of the eastern strand of the Boonanarring deposit. The Programme will include a ground magnetic survey and a close-spaced (2-3 m) drilling campaign designed to delineate the high-grade HM and zircon-rich content of the Core and to determine the continuity of the Core along strike.
Evidence of High-Grade Core
A high-grade Core was identified by the drilling used to develop the current Mineral Resource model and Ore Reserve estimate. Sectional interpretation indicates that within the eastern strand of mineralisation (which is ~100 m wide) the Core may be less than 20 m in cross-sectional width. As the nominal spacing of the resource definition drill holes is typically 15-20 m, the current drilling may have been too widely spaced to adequately intercept and define the mineralisation within the high-grade Core.
The drill holes that are interpreted to have intercepted the Core have substantially higher total HM (of up to ~50%) and higher zircon content (of up to 52% of the HM) than typical assays from the eastern strand. See Figure 1 for a grade-thickness contour map of the Boonanarring deposit eastern and western strands highlighting the high-grade Core in the eastern strand.
Operational Indicators
The first information indicating that the eastern strand Core (and therefore potentially the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve) may have been underestimated is based on January 2019 production statistics. The average actual HM ore grade for January 2019 resulted in a positive variance of 110% (i.e. more than double) when compared to the Ore Reserve estimate (12.6% HM actual versus 6.0% HM estimate). In addition, the average actual zircon grade of the ore was 33.5% (as a percentage of the HM content) compared to the Ore Reserve estimate of 22.9%, for a positive variance of 46%.
Importantly, in reviewing the January 2019 Boonanarring operational data it was determined that, even though the overall ratio of ore mined and processed during January from the eastern strand and western strand was roughly 50:50, the eastern strand material included a section of the high-grade Core that may have contributed to the higher average ore grade. A review of December 2018 and February 2019 operational data indicates limited amounts of ore from the Core of the eastern strand were mined and processed and reconciliations of actual and estimated HM grades indicated positive variances of +20% and +30% respectively. Again, the overall ratio of ore processed from the eastern and western strands in December 2018 and February 2019 was approximately 50:50, suggesting the Core may have contributed to the positive variance.
Figure 1. Grade-thickness contour map of the Boonanarring deposit
HIGH GRADE GOLD INTERSECTIONS INCLUDING 3M AT 11.5 G/T AT ERAYINIA PROJECT
ASX Announcement 28 February 2019
Highlights
Fire assay results on 1m splits identify three, high grade anomalous gold zones not previously defined by 4m composite sample chemical assays, and include gold intercepts of:
- 3m at 11.5 g/t from 92m including 2m at 16.6 g/t from 93m in hole EYRC03;
- 2m at 9.9g/t from 56m in hole EYRC01; and
- 3m at 2.4g/t from 47m in hole EYRC01
Erayinia Gold Project
Image Resources is pleased to announce high grade gold results from fire assay analysis of 1m splits at its 100%-owned Erayinia Project E28/1895 and E28/2242 (Figure 1), located 130 kilometres SE of Kalgoorlie. The fire assay results were much higher than the preliminary wet chemistry assays conducted on 4m composites, analysed by the aqua regia method (see ASX Release 19 September 2018 for preliminary results). Fire assay results on the 1m composites compared to the 4m composites analysed by aqua regia are presented in Table 2 and can be summarized as follows:
- 3m at 11.5 g/t Au from 92m including 2m at 16.6 g/t Au from 93m (fire assays) compared to the 4m composite at 0.63 g/t Au (aqua regia assays) from 92m in hole EYRC03;
- 2m at 9.9g/t Au from 56m (fire assays) compared to the 4m composite at 1.04 g/t Au (aqua regia assays) from 56m in hole EYRC01; and
- 3m at 2.4g/t Au from 47m (fire assays) compared to the 4m composite at 0.40 g/t Au (aqua regia assays) from 44m in hole EYRC01.
As a result of these upgraded gold results, more anomalous zones will be analysed by fire assay over the 1m split intervals and a follow-up programme of 10 RC holes for 1,360m will be conducted soon. This drill programme is designed to test the extent of the above highgrade zones (Figures 2, 3 and Table 3) and includes 4 additional drill lines over a 500m strike length, to test for the potential NNW extent of this high-grade gold mineralisation.
The recently completed RC drilling programme of 7 RC holes (EYRC07 to EYRC13) totaling 337m is now considered of limited effectiveness as some of the holes drilled only went to a vertical depth of around 45m (Table 1), which is too shallow to pick up the above high-grade gold zones, which start around 50m and are expected to deepen going to the north. The next drill programme will be to an average depth of 136m (Table 3). The most southern drill line will start adjacent to the King mineralisation to the south (Figure 2) which was drilled by WMC in 1998-99 and Integra 2003-07*
The intersections in EYRC01 are within a sheared, bleached and silicified mafic unit. The mineralisation is interpreted to occur as west-dipping, stacked pyrite, quartz, and carbonate lodes within a package of Archaean mafic and sedimentary rocks.
Notes: * WAMEX Open File Report A61649 – WMC Annual Technical Report for the Karonie Project October 2000. WAMEX Open File Report A79824 – Integra Surrender Report for the Aldiss Project October 2008.
Figure 1 Location of Erayinia and operating gold mines in the Kalgoorlie region.
IMAGE RESOURCES RECEIVES FIRST REVENUE FROM BOONANARRING PROJECT
ASX Announcement 15 January 2019
Image Resources NL (ASX: IMA) (“Image” or “the Company”) is pleased to advise the Company has completed the loading of the first bulk shipment of nominally 10,000 wet metric tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate (“HMC”) from its 100%-owned, high-grade, zircon-rich Boonanarring mineral sands project located 80km north of Perth in the infrastructure-rich North Perth Basin in Western Australia.
Payment for this shipment of HMC was secured via a letter of credit (“LC”) under a life-ofmine off-take agreement with Shantou Natfort Zirconium and Titanium Co., Ltd (“Natfort”). The LC is expected to be available to be cashed by Image within a few days following the departure of the ship from Bunbury Port on 14 January 2019.
First HMC Loading at Bunbury Port, WA
Following on from the successful completion of wet commissioning of the HMC production facilities at Boonanarring at the end of November 2018, and a remarkable month of production during the first month of the production ramp-up period in December 2018, sufficient HMC has been produced to allow for a 10,000-tonne shipment.
The production ramp-up period was aggressively scheduled to achieve the feasibility study ore processing rate design capacity of 500 dry tonnes per hour (DTPH) in six months. Ore processing rates during December have substantially exceeded scheduled rates for the first month of the production ramp-up period. Processing rates reached 80+% of design capacity on multiple days and the average rate for the month was 73% of design, compared to a budgeted rate of only 60% of design. Operating availabilities were as high as 100% on multiple days and the average for the month was 86%, compared to a budgeted availability of only 75%. Ore grades and heavy mineral recovery have been in line with budget and HMC quality improved throughout December such that longer term expected quality levels were achieved by the end of the month.
Early January ore processing rates continue to exceed ramp-up period budgeted rates, with HMC inventory levels beginning to build for a second shipment currently scheduled for midFebruary 2019.
Managing Director Patrick Mutz commented, “The Operating group, spearheaded by Todd Colton, COO and David White, Operations Manager, has delivered on another very significant milestone for the Company, being completion of the first bulk shipment of HMC and receipt of first revenue. I want to thank Braemar, WA Mercantile and Qube Ports & Bulk for their valuable contributions to our first shipment, and our offtake partner Natfort, for working with Image on what has been a tight schedule during the end of year holiday period and we look forward to developing a routine nominal monthly shipping schedule to support our aggressive mining and processing schedule.”
The Company remains committed to completing its next key project development milestone of achieving positive project cash flow at the end of 1st QTR 2019.
Forecast production and financial guidance for 2019 will be announced following finalisation and approval of the 2019 budget.
