Sandfire, Talisman look to next Monty

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0	Sandfire, Talisman look to next Monty
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2	Monday, 28 September 2015 Kristie Batten WHILE Sandfire Resources and Talisman Mining are excited by the Monty discovery, the partners say it’s only just the beginning. Column 1 0 Sandfire drilling in the Doolgunna region

Speaking at the Resources Rising Stars conference on the Gold Coast last week, Sandfire acting chief exploration officer and general manager geology Shannan Bamforth said a “stonker of an anomaly” led to the discovery of Monty in June. Since then, the company has completed more than 6700m of diamond drilling and close to 4000m of reverse circulation drilling. The drilling has defined two distinct zones, an upper zone and a lower zone, which could join together. “Monty could potentially be an open pit in the very near future,” Bamforth said. He said there were internal studies being done on possible production options for Monty, such as whether to build a conveyer to the DeGrussa plant 10km away. “That’s all gurgling away in the background,” he said. At the same time, Sandfire is considering what else could be discovered and is reassessing the region. “We need to start thinking about Monty two, Monty three, and Monty four,” Bamforth said. “We’ve only drilled 400m of a 5km strike stratigraphy.” Talisman’s Homer prospect, only 4km from DeGrussa, has displayed the strongest repetition of exhalative rocks. “The opportunity here is real,” Bamforth said. “Whilst Monty is absolutely exciting at this time, Sandfire is no one-trick pony.” Drilling at Homer is planned shortly, as well as further drilling at Monty and along the corridor. The company also conducted a 34km HiSeis seismic survey over the tenement package in April, with results due shortly. Sandfire is spending $A15 million at Monty to earn 70% and may ramp-up exploration activity pending results. Shares in Sandfire were up 0.2% this morning to $5.41, while Talisman shares were unchanged at 43c.[/table]