お知らせ • Feb 06
Hastings Technology Metals Limited Announces Significant Increase in the Ore Reserve Estimate At Its Yangibana Rare Earths Project
Hastings Technology Metals Limited announced a significant increase in the Ore Reserve estimate at its Yangibana Rare Earths Project in Western Australia's Gascoyne region. Total Proved and Probable Ore Reserves have increased to 20.93 million tonnes (up from 16.7 million tonnes) at 0.90% TREO which includes a 37% component of Nd2O3+Pr6O11 (NdPr). This is a 25% increase in Ore Reserve tonnes compared to that previously announced to ASX. The growth in the Ore Reserve is based on drilling, assaying and optimisation work from the 2021-2022 exploration program as well as the completion of the acquisition of the 30% Yangibana Joint Venture Interest from Cadence Minerals Plc announced on 25 January this year. The former joint venture ground contained 2.34Mt of Mineral Resources and 0.73Mt of Ore Reserves that were attributable to Cadence. Proved and Probable Ore Reserves: Based on Definitive Feasibility level studies (DFS) information and recent updates to OPEX, pricing, geological, geotechnical, metallurgical and environmental work, independent consultant Intermine Engineering Consultants (Intermine) has completed an updated Ore Reserve estimate based on Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at each of Bald Hill, Fraser's, Simon's Find, Auer, Auer North, Yangibana, and Yangibana North deposits. This Ore Reserve estimate used Whittle pit optimisation software to maximise ore recovery using conventional drill and blast, load and haul mining methods. The increase in the Ore Reserves is based on the re-estimated and updated Mineral Resources for Bald Hill, Fraser's, and Simon's Find announced on 11 October 2022. The increase in the 2022 Mineral Resource estimate was the result of a successful 13,334m drilling campaign at Yangibana during 2021-2022 targeting the 8km long Bald Hill Simon's Find Fraser's trend which is in close proximity to the process plant. The 2021-2022 drilling program increased the Indicated Mineral Resources along the Bald Hill - Simon's Find Fraser's deposits by 50% to 9.84Mt or by a 31% increase for the Measured + Indicated Mineral Resources to 14.16Mt for the same deposits. The resultant Mineral Resource upgrading has generated a new Ore Reserve of 20.93 million tonnes @ 0.90% TREO extending the mine life to 17 years. The extension to mine life is underpinned by additional classified ore tonnes developed from an infill drilling programme along the Bald Hill, Simon's Find and Fraser's ore zones, also being the closest pits to the processing plant. The Bald Hill pit alone continues to represent around 40% of the Total Ore Reserves and is forecast to supply feed to the processing plant for 8 of the 17 years of mine life. Mineral Resources: The Mineral Resources as of 11th of October 2022 (ASX: Drilling along 8km long Bald Hill - Fraser's trend Increases Indicated Mineral Resources by 50%) is reported according to the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the `JORC Code') 2012 edition. The Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Ore Reserves. Geology The near surface mineralisation throughout the Yangibana Project is hosted by iron oxides and hydroxides termed ironstone, being the alteration products of the primary hosts ferro-carbonatite and phoscorite intrusive veins. The main rare earths-bearing mineral is monazite which has locally undergone alteration at shallow depths (to 25m depth) to its hydrous equivalent rhabdophane and to rare earths-bearing aluminium- phosphates such as florencite. The deposits occur as narrow but strike extensive veins that have a range of dips from almost horizontal (10- 20o) to sub-vertical. The Fraser's deposit has the most extreme range from 5o in portions towards its north- eastern end to 65o at its southwestern end. Average true thickness varies from 2.2m to 3.5m throughout the Yangibana deposits although locally true thicknesses in excess of 20m occur. Drilling The updated Yangibana Mineral Resource Estimate has been estimated using drilling covering the Bald Hill, Simon's Find, and Fraser's deposits. Auer, Yangibana, Yangibana North, Kane's Gossan, Gossan, Lion's Ear and Hook Mineral Resources are unchanged to those previously announced (ASX: "Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Tonnes Up by 54%" 5 May 2021). The 13,334m drilling program conducted from November 2021 to February 2022 was targeting remaining areas of Inferred Mineral Resource category material along the 8km long Bald Hill - Simon's Find - Fraser's trend. Drilling also targeted extensions to mineralisation outside of the currently defined mineralised envelopes at depth. The drilling program increased the Indicated Mineral Resources along the Bald Hill - Simon's Find - Frasers deposits by 50% to 9.84Mt or by a 31% increase for the Measured + Indicated Mineral Resources to 14.16Mt for the same deposits. All Yangibana Project deposits outcrop at surface, with no overburden or waste stripping required and contain large coherent linear geological domains comprising high contents of Neodymium and Praseodymium rare earth elements. The work undertaken to re-estimate the Bald Hill, Simon's Find and Fraser's deposits was completed by David Princep of Gill Lane Consulting and incorporates all of the information and data that was used in the previous Mineral Resource estimate plus the 2021-2022 drill program data Holes were initially drilled at 40m spacings along strike and down dip. Infill drilling in areas with Mineral Resource potential has been undertaken at 37.5m, or less spacing. Most drillholes were vertical, subject to access availability, with holes into the steeper mineralised zones (Auer, the South-eastern portion of Fraser's, Bald Hill and Yangibana) being at -60o or - 70o. Internal surveys were carried out at 30m intervals downhole by the drilling contractors using a Reflex electronic single-shot camera within a stainless-steel drill rod. Collar surveys were undertaken by the Survey Group using a DGPS surveying technique, with accuracies of approximately 10cm.