SEG 45 Final_qx4 - Society of Economic Geologists

OCTOBER 2005 • No 63 SEG NEWSLETTER 31
in Mongolia’s south Gobi region. Under
the terms of the agreement, Mitsui will
acquire an equity interest and participate
in Ivanhoe’s South Gobi Power
Development Corp. Mitsui & Co has
also agreed to participate in the exploration,
development, and financing of
Ivanhoe’s Oyu Tolgoi Cu-Au project
and several of Ivanhoe’s coal properties
in the region.
Ivanhoe Mines and BHP Billiton
have entered into an agreement to
explore Ivanhoe’s non-core assets in the
southern Gobi region of Mongolia. BHP
Billiton can earn up to 50% by funding
$8M on exploration, including a minimum
30,000 line-km FALCON survey.
Fortress Minerals has reached an
agreement with Phelps Dodge that provides
Phelps Dodge the option to earn a
70% interest in Fortress’s Cu-Au-Ag-Mo
properties in Mongolia. Phelps Dodge
will take private placements valued at
$3M over the next two years, providing
Fortress with funds for exploration.
Fortress will initially drill both the Teltiin
Gol Cu-Au and Oyuut Uul Au targets.
QGX announced an independent
resource estimate for the Central Valley
zone on its Golden Hills Cu-Au-Ag project
in western Mongolia. Measured and
indicated sulfide and oxide resources
total 13.26 Mt @1.32% Cu, 0.96 g/t Au,
and 4.6 g/t Ag, with an inferred
resource of 11.95 Mt @ 1.18% Cu, 1.36
g/t Au, and 6.44 g/t Ag.
PHILIPPINES
A revised feasibility study has been
completed by Climax Mining for their
Dinkidi Cu-Au project and approval of
the study received by the Philippines
Environment and Natural Resources,
effectively opening the way for development
of the deposit. The Dinkidi porphyry
deposit (Climax Mining Ltd.,
92%, local interest, 8%) is located 200
km north of Manila. A US$81M capital
expenditure is envisaged with an
annual average metal production of
approximately 94,000 oz gold and
10,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate.
The revised feasibility study indicates a
minimum 15-year operation including
a 12-month construction period commencing
at the end of 2005. Production
is planned to begin in 2007.
Indophil Resources (37.5%) has successfully
raised funds to conduct a prefeasibility
study to be completed by late
2006 on the Tampakan copper-gold
project (Xstrata, 62.5%), located on
Mindanao Island. The Tampakan
indicated and inferred resource is
approximately 900 Mt @ 0.7% Cu and
0.3 g/t Au (COG = 0.4% Cu).
It has been reported that the
Jinchuan Group, Shanghai Baoshan
Iron and Steel Group, and the China
Development Bank signed an agreement
with Philnico Mining and
Industrial to develop the Nonoc Island
nickel project, located in the Surigao del
Norte region. Under the terms of the
agreement, the Chinese companies will
invest $950M to refurbish the processing
facility and restart the nickel mining
operations.
Mindoro Resources Ltd. reports that
high gold recoveries were obtained in
column leach tests from their epithermal
Archangel Au-Ag prospect. Mindoro is
carrying out more detailed evaluations
aimed at establishing the open-pit,
heap-leach potential of the prospect.
The Rapu Rapu mine, located on the
eastern edge of Rapu Rapu island, celebrated
(Lafayette Mining Ltd, 74%, LG
Group International, 13%, Korean
Resources Corp., 13%) becoming the
first foreign-funded mine to be commissioned
in the Philippines in the last 30
years with its first gold pour. The commissioning
of a base metals plant that
will produce copper and zinc concentrates
is also planned for the last quarter
of 2005. Lafayette also recently
approved an exploration budget to systematically
evaluate the Hixbar and
Linao areas with a ground-based EM
program and drilling.
Rusina Mining (80%) has reported
drill results from its Acoje Pt-Pd-Ni-Cu
project (Kinloch Resources, 20%),
located in Zambales province. Best
intersections include 28 m @ 3.00 g/t
(Pd, Pt, Au), and 0.65% Ni, including 8
m @ 4.88 g/t (Pd, Pt, Au) and 0.87% Ni,
and 24 m @ 1.75 g/t (Pd, Pt, Au) and
0.49% Ni, including 12 m @ 2.53g/t (Pd,
Pt, Au) and 0.58% Ni.
INDONESIA
Oropa Ltd. has intersected gold mineralization
outside the current Sihayo 1
North Resource envelope. Drill hole
SHDD060 intersected 8 m @ 2.66 g/t Au
from surface, while drill hole SHDD062
intersected 31 m @ 2.38g/t Au from 1m.
Southern Arc Minerals Inc. has completed
drilling 9 scout holes at the low
sulfidation epithermal Lemonga
prospect located on Sumbawa Island,
covering 31,204 ha.
Five gold-bearing quartz veins (Amy,
Betty, Cici, Dessy, Evi) have been
identified within the alteration zone.
Highlights of drill hole intervals from
the Amy vein include hole LDG-01,
16.05 m @ 5.3 g/t Au and 51 g/t Ag;
and hole LDG-03, 15.40 m @ 6.67 g/t
Au and 36 g/t Ag.
Austindo Resources Corp. NL has
announced it has entered into a 3-year
strategic alliance with PT Minorco
Services Indonesia, a subsidiary of
Anglo American, to jointly explore for
porphyry Cu-Au deposits in the
provinces of Papua and West Irian Jaya.
Anglo has agreed to solely fund exploration
expenditure and has an initial
80% interest in projects. In the event
that a resource of less than 1 Mt of contained
Cu equiv or 1 Moz Au is identified,
Anglo may elect that the project
either revert to Austindo on an 80/20
basis (with Austindo holding 80%) or
that 100% be transferred to Austindo
with Anglo retaining a 2% NSR.
Meanwhile, Austindo has purchased for
A$2.5M gold processing plant for their
Cibaliung epithermal Au project
(Austindo, 83.76%, ANAKA TAMBANG,
16.24%) located in west Java, which is
scheduled to start production in early
2006. The Cibaliung deposit has a
reported minable reserves and resources
of 1.388 Mt @ 9.5 g/t Au and 80 g/t Ag.
LAOS
Pan Australian Resources has
announced the results from drilling on
their Phu Kham copper-gold project
(Pan Australian Resources, 80%,
Newmont Mining, 20%). Better results
are from hole GDD099, with 34 m @
4.6% Cu and 0.7 g/t Au from 294 m.
The recent drilling now extends known
mineralization at Phu Kham along a
1.3-km strike length, remaining open
along strike and at depth. Initial production
of 52,000 oz/yr of gold and
57,600 tpa of copper at Phu Kham is
scheduled for the second half of 2005.
THAILAND
Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. reported
that the combined Chatree North and
Chatree mining lease now contain over
3 Moz Au and 22.75 Moz Ag in
resources and over 1.5 Moz Au and 12.7
Moz Ag in reserves. For year ended June
2005, Chatree mine produced 126,550
oz Au and 353,275 oz Ag.
Asian Mineral
Resources’ wholly
VIETNAM
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