ASX Announcement 22 July 2008 Phosphate Project Tenement...

ASX Announcement
22 July 2008
Phosphate Project Tenement Granted

Exploration permit granted over D‐Tree West Phosphate deposit
Native Title Access Agreement in place
Inferred Mineral Resource ‐ 170Mt grading 16% P2O5 (10% P2O5 cut‐off grade)
Priority offer to D’Aguilar Gold Limited shareholders in Mt Isa Metals Limited float closes this
Friday 25 July

The Board of D’Aguilar Gold Limited is pleased to announce that the Queensland Department of Mines and
Energy has granted an Exploration Permit for Minerals (EPM 15763) to its majority owned subsidiary Mt Isa
Metals Limited.
The 237km2 Exploration Permit encompasses the company’s D‐Tree West Phosphate Project which includes a
significant phosphate occurrence ‐ Inferred Mineral Resource totals 170Mt @ 16% P2O5 (10% P2O5 cut‐off
grade).
Mr Peter Spiers, Managing Director of Mt Isa Metals, said that “the significant increase in the global
phosphate price has created very strong international interest in the development of substantial phosphate
deposits in the Georgina Basin such as D‐Tree West”.
Mr Spiers also added “our first priority at D‐Tree West is to complete a preliminary scoping study to quantify
the economic significance of the project, to assess the range of possible future production rates, and to define
our immediate work program. Grant of the tenement, along with Native Title Access Agreements that we
have already concluded, now also clears the way for Mt Isa Metals to commence field work at D‐Tree West”.
Mt Isa Metals is preparing for listing on the ASX via a $7m IPO. A Prospectus was lodged with ASIC on 26th
June 2008.
Eligible D’Aguilar Gold Limited shareholders who have received a green priority application form mailed with
the Mt Isa Metals Limited prospectus are reminded that the priority offer period closes this Friday 25 July.
The general public offer for shares in Mt Isa Metals Limited closes on the 4 August.


Project Background

The D‐Tree West Project comprises a single tenement (EPM 15763) located 120km north‐north‐west of
Mount Isa. The tenement overlies the western portion of the D‐Tree phosphate deposit discovered by IMC
Development Corporation (IMC) in the mid 1960s.

Phosphate mineralisation is hosted within Cambrian age sediments of the Beetle Creek Formation which
outcrop along the western edge of the Georgina Basin, a major sedimentary basin that hosts Australia’s
most economically significant phosphate deposits (figure 1).

100km
Wonarah
(Mi nemakers Ltd)
Highland Plains
(Phosphate Australia)
D‐Tree West
(Mt Isa Metals)
Phosphate Hill
(Incitec‐Pivot)
D‐Tree, Lady Annie/Jane etc
(Legend International)

Figure 1 – Location map and Georgina Basin.
Note : The projects noted above (with the exception of D‐Tree West) are not assets of D’Aguilar Gold or Mt Isa Metals.

The D‐Tree deposit was subject to extensive technical studies in the 1960s and 1970s including the
completion of 148 drill holes by IMC over the entire deposit (approximately 50% of which is outside the
Company’s tenement).

An Inferred Mineral Resource of 170Mt @ 16% P2O5 has been defined within the Company’s tenement based
on a reassessment of the historical IMC data. Inferred Mineral Resources across a range of cut‐off grades are
summarised below:

Cut‐off Grade (P2O5) Tonnes (million) Grade
+5% 340 11% P2O5
+10% 170 16% P2O5
+14% 110 18% P2O5
Table 1 – D‐Tree West Phosphate Deposit – Inferred Mineral Resources.




The D‐Tree West phosphate mineralised horizon extends for a strike length in excess of 15km within the
project area. The total tenement area is 237km2 (23,700 hectares).

The phosphate horizon is yet to be fully closed off and potential exists to extend the resource base to the
west through additional drilling (figure 2).

The D‐Tree West prospect is subject to compliance with a Wild Rivers declaration. Please see Sections 5 and 7
of the Mt Isa Metals prospectus for details of the restrictions imposed.

200:1 (H:V)
5km
Drill holes
IMC ( 1967- 68)
Co n ti n ental Oi l ( 1966)
CRA Ex p l ’n (1994)
Phosphate Mineralisation
+10% P2O5
+15% P2O5
EPMA 15763
Historical lease
boundary
Georgina
Basin Mount Isa
Inlier
Pri ori ty Target Areas
(hi gher grade zones)
139oE
19.5oS
Y145
Y271
Y146
Y147
No n p h osphatic
si l tstone / c h er t
Prot erozoic
basement
Thornt onia
Limest one
Phosphat ic
zone
Ap p r o x. Leas e
Bo un d ary
2.2km
Un co nformi ty
30m
EMPA 15763
Schematic EW Cross Section
EPM 15763
EPM 15763

Figure 2: Location of phosphate mineralisation and tenement boundary.


Rock phosphate prices have increased substantially over the past two years and significant phosphate
deposits discovered in the past, such as D‐Tree, are now receiving detailed re‐assessment (Figure 3).


* Spot price: Fertiliser Week 12 June 2008 fob Morocco (72%–73% BPL) US$350–$385 per tonne.
Source: British Sulphur Consultants.
Note: Majority of traded phosphate rock is sold under contract and only a small percentage is sold in the spot market.
Mid Point Spot Price*
(June 2008)

Figure 3: Phosphate Rock price history (US$/t fob Morocco).