Sydney, Mar 25, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Robust Resources (ASX: ROL) today announced a $1.2 million exploration program over the next ten months for its newly acquired gold-base-metals project on Romang Island in Indonesia's Magmatic Arc.
- $1.2m to be expended over 10 months to explore Northern and Southern areas concurrently.
-- Drill and delineate high-grade northern Kiahar Prospect for mining feasibility.
-- Follow up Billiton drilling in southern Lakuwahi Prospect.
- Rock chip sampling confirms presence of high-grade silver-lead in southern Lakuwahi Prospect, including:
-- Sample 110071 - 401ppm Ag
-- Sample 110106 - 357 ppm Ag, 4.72% Pb
-- Sample 110131 - 360 ppm Ag
Robust's strategic expansion into Romang Island, which has a mineralising system comparable in size to the Lihir ore body in PNG, was announced last month. Romang has advanced exploration projects in five mineral titles totaling 25,000 hectares covering the entire island. A number of prospects exist in the north and south areas of the island and the prime prospects are ready for immediate drilling.
Robust Resources Executive Director Gary Lewis today said that the company will explore the northern and southern prospects concurrently. A key objective will be to bring one of the northern prospects which have the potential to be developed into a low-CAPEX direct shipping (ore) operation into rapid production providing an income to fund detailed assessment of the much larger Southern (Lakuwahi) Prospect.
The southern Lakuwahi prospect, which is the prime long-term target, has the potential to host a large base metal-gold breccia deposit and high-grade exhalative volcanogenic massive sulphides. The prospect has barite-style mineralisation similar to the Kali Lerokis/ Kuning projects on nearby Wetar Island being developed by Finders Resources.
Mr Lewis said that the Romang prospects were now a major focus for the company and equipment and people were being mobilised for an aggressive exploration program. Geochem results were expected to start flowing in June with early drill results expected in July.
Northern Prospects
The main initial objective is to identify high-grade Pb-Ag-(Au) veins in the Northern Prospects, and to bring one or more of these into rapid production by shallow surface mining. Lump ore would then be shipped direct to Asian smelters, providing an early income stream.
Northern prospect work (with 9 target areas) involves mapping and sampling of veins, followed by about 2500m of diamond drilling. Known veins are about 2m wide, persisting for about 200m along strike and 100m down dip, and contain about 25% massive sulphides assaying 30% Pb, 400g/t Ag and 2g/t Au.
Southern (Lakuwahi) Prospect
The main objective is to follow up earlier Billiton drilling, with detailed geological (mapping), geochemical (rock chip sampling), and geophysical (magnetic, gravity, IP) work, to delineate high-grade volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) pods within the deposit. An initial program of follow-up, step out scout drilling is proposed of about 15 x 170m holes.
The Lakuwahi camp is already established. The next stage will be to cut lines and grid stake the caldera target area. This will be followed by mapping and rock chip sampling, spot height theodolite leveling, ground magnetics, and contract geophysics. The last will consist of gravity and IP (induced electrical polarisation) surveys.
Details of rock chip sampling carried out by Robust include the following results which are similar to the surface sampling by Billiton in 1998.
110071 - 401ppm Ag110072 - 3.08 ppm Au, 1.38% Pb, 112 ppm Ag110106 - 4.72% Pb, 357 ppm Ag110109 - 217 ppm Ag110119 - 3.11 ppm Au110131 - 360 ppm Ag
The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on complied by John Levings BSc, who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and who has more than ten years experience in the field of activity being reported on. Mr Levings is a consultant to the Company. Mr Levings has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr Levings consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Contact
Gary Lewis
Managing Director
TEL: +61-422-880-055
Ian Finch
Chairman
Tel: +61-8-9485-1040
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