australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia

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AUSTRALIA’S IDENTIFIED MINERAL RESOURCES 2005 Accessible EDR All diamond EDR is accessible for mining. JORC Reserves JORC Code reserves account for almost all AEDR. The remaining AEDR comprise those measured and indicated resources (reported by mining companies), which Geoscience Australia has assessed as being economic in the long term. Exploration ABS data indicate that expenditure on exploration for diamond in Australia in 2004 was $25.4 million, down 8% on 2003. Exploration continues to be concentrated in Western Australia, notably the Kimberley region, Northern Territory and South Australia. Abner Range (NT): Gravity Diamonds Ltd announced the discovery of a diamondiferous kimberlite (ABN21) south of the McArthur River mine after drilling a Falcon® airborne gravity anomaly. Detailed ground gravity surveys and geological mapping are being conducted to outline the potential shape and size of the kimberlite body to enable more detailed test drilling and bulk sampling. A further 28 targets within 10 km radius of the ABN21 are to be mapped and sampled. Seppelt (WA): Striker Resources NL continued exploration in the North Kimberley region at its Seppelt project, which comprises a number of related kimberlite dykes, blows and pipes over a strike length of some 6 km. At the Seppelt 2 pipe the largest diamonds recovered to date include one 8.5 c and one 6.3 c diamond. The 8.5 c clear white diamond is of gem quality and valued at US$1 500 per carat. The 2004 work program focused on assessing the viability of open-pit mining at the high grade Seppelt 2 pipe (at 211 cpht for the weathered kimberlite), the Seppelt 1 pipe and the Seppelt 5 fissure as well as assessing the potential for underground mining at Seppelt 5 and Seppelt 2. Following the sale of 5 618 carats at an average price of US$35/carat, largely from lower grade infill gravels, trial mining at Seppelt 2 was discontinued in favour of further exploration in the region and an immediate focus on advancing the Merlin Project. Ellendale (WA): Kimberley Diamond Company Ltd discovered nine small pipes in 2004 (Kimberley Pipes 33 to 41), all within trucking distance of existing infrastructure at Pipe 9. Flinders Ranges (SA): Flinders Diamonds Ltd reported the discovery 11 kimberlites, mostly in the Euralia region, three of which carry micro diamonds. Two small kimberlite pipes were also discovered in the Angaston region in the Adelaide Hills following detailed airborne and ground magnetic surveys and sampling. Production Australia produced 20.7 Mc of diamond in 2004, making it the world’s fourth largest producer of diamond by weight after Botswana, Russia and Congo (Kinshasa). As a producer of gem/near gem diamond, Australia is the fourth largest after Botswana, Russia and Canada and as producer of industrial grade diamond Australia is the third largest. 30 Production was almost entirely from the Argyle mine (AK1 pipe), which produced 20.62 Mc, mostly industrial and cheap diamonds with an average price of US$15–16. Production was down substantially from the 30.91 Mc mined in 2003 as a consequence of difficult near-base-of-pit mining conditions, which resulted in mining of lower grade ore. The average grade mined for the year was 2.15 cpt (cf 3.16 cpt in 2003). Production from Kimberley Diamond’s Ellendale mine in the West Kimberley region increased to 82 039 c up from 57 000 c in the previous year. Production was from the Ellendale 9 pipe where high-value fancy yellow gem diamonds (average sale price in 2004 US$258 per carat) were mined.
AUSTRALIA’S IDENTIFIED MINERAL RESOURCES 2005 World Ranking Australia’s EDR of industrial diamond ranks fourth (10% of current world total EDR), after the Congo (Kinshasa), Botswana and South Africa (26%, 23% and 12% respectively). Detailed data are not available on world resources of gem/near gem diamond but Australia has stocks amongst the largest for this category. Industry Developments Argyle (WA): Rio Tinto Ltd continued development of a 2.2 km exploratory decline to 300 m depth to test the fragmentation and ‘caveability’ of the ore body below the open pit. This is part of a full feasibility study (costing $70 million) to assess the viability of underground mining after the open-pit reserves are exhausted in 2008. A decision on the underground mine development option is expected in 2005. Ellendale (WA): Expansion of Ellendale 4 operations is to proceed with a 4.4 Mtpa production plant to be fully commissioned by April 2006. This will increase production in the long-term to 7.2 Mtpa from 2.8 Mtpa currently. Merlin (NT): Striker Resources NL acquired the Merlin mine and surrounding exploration tenements of 1 800 km2 from Rio Tinto. A study found that some 19% of Merlin diamonds do not fluoresce and therefore were unlikely to have been recovered in previous mining. Striker has begun processing the entire sorthouse tailings stockpile comprising up to 10 000 t and estimated to have a grade of 950 cpht from a 1.8 t sample. An initial development will re-commence mining operations to process the remaining open pit ore, estimated at 475 000 t for which previously reconciled production grades may have understated the true kimberlite grades by more than 25%. Later stages include the cut-back of the Sacramore/Palomides pipe structures and possible underground mining. Striker estimate total resources in the Merlin Field to be 19 Mt at an average grade of 17.4 cpht for a total of 3.3 Mc. Australia’s largest diamond weighing 104.73 carats recovered from the Gareth pipe, Merlin (NT) and valued at US$525 000 in 2002 (Striker Resources NL). 31 Gold Gold prices maintained the higher levels through 2004 resulting in the year-end price of US$438/oz and an average of around US$410/oz. The continuing stronger price contributed to a substantial increase in spending on exploration for gold both in Australia and worldwide. There was a strong increase in the level of both EDR and total resources, however production was lower than in previous years. In 2004 gold contributed over $5.5 billion to the Australian economy in export earnings.
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