australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia

AUSTRALIA’S IDENTIFIED MINERAL RESOURCES 2005
Sally Malay Mining Ltd commenced operation of the nickel processing plant in August 2004 with the
first shipment of nickel concentrates sent from the Port of Wyndham to Jinchuan, China in September
2004. Total production of contained metal in concentrates for 2004 amounted to 2 697 t Ni, 1,468 t Cu,
and 159 t Co. Sally Malay Mining Ltd entered in a joint venture with Donegal Resources, the
Lanfranchi Joint Venture (Sally Malay 75%, Donegal Resources 25%) to acquire the Lanfranchi Mine
by way of a sublease from WMC Resources Ltd for $26 M. The purchase was executed in late 2004.
Total reserves and resources for the Lanfranchi group of deposits amount to 3.65 Mt at 2.02% Ni with
a contained nickel content of 73 873 t. Limited mining of the Lanfranchi orebody had commenced at
the end of 2004.
Fox Resources Limited commenced production at the Radio Hill nickel mine in July 2004 and the
first shipment of nickel and copper concentrates to China was sent from Dampier in August 2004.
Total production for 2004 of contained metal in concentrates was 926 t Ni, 612 t Cu and 49 t Co.
Continuing underground drilling at Radio Hill intersected 37 m grading 0.65% Ni, 0.84% Cu,
and 0.03% Co. The company also commenced a bankable feasibility study into heap leaching
disseminated nickel and copper resources at Radio Hill and the Sholl deposits that amount to an
inferred resource of 7.03 Mt containing 39 000 t Ni, 53 000 t Cu and 2 800 t Co. Fox Resources Ltd
announced that it had acquired 100% ownership in the Sholl nickel deposits. In March 2005 the
company also announced that it had acquired the Ruth Well nickel deposit about 12 km north of
the Radio Hill treatment plant. Following drilling programs, intersections of high grade mineralisation
included one with 11 m at 4.3% Ni, 1.5% Cu and 0.13% Co from 55 m.
Australian Mines Ltd commenced mining nickel ore at the Blair Nickel Mine with the first ore
despatched for toll treatment at the Kambalda Nickel Concentrator in March 2004. A total of 10 920 t
of ore was mined at an average grade of 2.81% Ni for 277 t of contained nickel metal. Other areas
being explored by the company in the vicinity of the Blair Nickel Mine include Anomaly 11, Duplex
Hill, Blair South, Marshall and Anomaly 20.
Mincor Resources NL operated three nickel mines in 2004 south of Kambalda (WA) comprising the
Miitel, Wannaway and the Redross Mine, which commenced operations in the September quarter of
2004. The combined metal in concentrate production for the three mines in 2004 was 8436 t Ni, 167 t
Co and 828 t Cu. A fourth mine, the Mariners, commenced operations in the first quarter of 2005 and
the mining of the North Miitel deposit also commenced in March 2005. Mincor continued to explore
for extensions from the existing orebodies. Encouraging intersections included 5.37 m at 3.1% Ni
from 745 m with a true width of about 4.1 m at South Miitel and 7.14 m at 3.2% Ni with a true width
of 4.0 m intersected below Wannaway. Intersections announced during the first half of 2005 included
4.8 m at 5.67% Ni north and down plunge of North Miitel at a down-hole depth of 628.7 m and a
true width of about 3 m; and 1.7 m at 2.87% Ni, down plunge to the south below the Redross
deposit at a down-hole depth of 550.5 m.
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During 2004, Independence Group NL continued to mine its Long deposit and conducted development
and associated mining operations of its Victor South and Gibb South orebodies. Total production for
2004 amounted to 8 083 t Ni and 575 t Cu. A significant proportion of this production was sourced
from outside the defined ore zones. The company continued drilling for extensions of the existing
resources and significant extensions included 26.45 m at 6.8% Ni at Victor South. A decision was also
made to commence a 1 315 m long exploration decline from the southern end of the Long ore body
at a cost of $4 million. The decline will test possible extensions of the ore at Long South where
previous drill intercepts include 3.6 m at 3.3% Ni.
Development work at the Avebury Project (Viking and Avebury North deposits) in Tasmania, owned
by Allegiance Mining NL, included the completion of a 1 200 m long decline in mid-January 2005.
By the end of the first quarter in 2005, 7 611 m of drilling from the surface and the decline had
extended the Avebury mineralisation by 370 m and the zone remains open to east and west. One
intersection 150 m west of the resource boundary consisted of 12 m grading at 1.6% Ni. Another
intersection of 12 m in North Avebury graded 4.3% Ni with 2 m of massive nickel mineralisation at
14.1%. The company expects to complete the resource drilling required for a bankable feasibility