Silver Sparkle on Show at Conrad
Silver sparkle on show at Conrad
A NEW mineral resource estimate has been prepared for the Conrad silver project in northern New South Wales, with Malachite Resources upgrading to 19.2 million ounces of silver equivalent.
The new estimate is based on drilling results to date, amounting to over 25,000m in 107 drill holes.
Of the 19.2 million ounces, 9.6Moz is silver, with the balance made up of tin, copper, lead and zinc.
Indium is also present, but has not been included in the calculations as its metallurgical recovery and net smelter return have not yet been investigated.
The company said the estimate was made up of Conrad's three principal components: Conrad Lode; King Conrad Lode and Greisen Zone.
High-grade zones of mineralisation identified in the Conrad and King Conrad Lodes are expected to be the initial targets for future mining.
The company said to emphasise the significance of the high-grade zones within the lodes, mineral resource estimates have been reported applying defined shapes and a cut-off of 300 grams per tonne silver equivalent and demonstrate 458,000 tonnes at 424gpt silver equivalent for 6.2Moz of silver equivalent, including 3.4Moz of silver.
'This is a 150 per cent increase over the previous high-grade resource estimate and shows the beneficial effect of infill drilling in identified high-grade zones,' the company said.
The Sydney-based resource company said in terms of contained metal, the new global mineral resource figure for Conrad represents a modest 9% increase over the interim figure announced in August.
However, a there may be a further upgrade to the mineral resource estimate as metallurgical testwork continues and a better estimate of tin recovery is achieved.
Malachite said it believes as the Conrad Lode is open both along strike and at depth, increasing the mineral resource in the future will largely be a matter of additional drilling.
The company has planned a new scoping study in 2009.
'The new scoping study will provide an indication of how far along the development path the Conrad silver project has come,' the company said.
'It will also provide a blueprint for the future work required to complete Conrad's transition from a prospect based on an old mine, to a modern, polymetallic mining operation, possibly with both open bit and underground production.'
Shares in Malachite Resources were unchanged in morning trade at 7.2c.
About the Author:
http://www.cnmining.org/news/?id=785
