Oblique view of the three stages of the White Dam pit showing location of the Probable Reserve (in Blue) and the Inferred in-pit resources (in Brown), looking North East.
Perth, April 29, 2009 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Exco Resources Limited (ASX:EXS)(PINK:EXRSF) The White Dam Gold Project is located in South Australia; approximately 80kms west of Broken Hill. Implementation planning for the project is at an advanced stage with approval of a Mining and Rehabilitation Programme (MARP) having been recently received (see previous announcement on 7 April 2009).
The project is subject to a planned joint venture arrangement under which Polymetals Group Pty Ltd (Polymetals) will acquire a 25% interest and manage the implementation and operation of the project.
Exco and Polymetals are currently finalising the joint venture arrangements, and discussions in relation to the financing of the project are currently being held with a number of interested parties.
WHITE DAM RESOURCE UPDATE
The White Dam resource has been re-estimated based on additional drilling completed since the previous 2004 resource. The updated resource has confirmed the original estimate and improved the confidence rating of the estimate.
The resource has been estimated based on 12 geologically and geochemically defined domains using both inverse distance squared (ID2) and the ordinary krigging (OK) interpolation methodology, using Micromine modelling software. Both techniques resulted in essentially the same result (at the same cutoff), with the tonnes, grade and contained ounces all within the expected accuracy of the defined level of estimate.
The resource cut-off has been reduced from 0.5 to 0.4 g/t as supported by an increase in gold price. This reduction in cut-off grade adds approximately 500,000t of low grade material for around 8,000 additional ounces of gold.
The OK estimate has been chosen as the preferred model as it has been based on geostatistical analysis of the deposit and is unlikely to be conditionally biased unlike the ID2 model. (The updated resource is presented in Table 1 below.)
WHITE DAM OPTIMISATIONS
On completion of the updated resource, a series of pit optimisations were completed by Dallas Cox of Crystal Sun Consulting for various gold price and input assumptions.
WHITE DAM RESERVE
Based on the A$900 pit optimisation, a three staged pit design was completed resulting in an initial Probable Reserve for White Dam of:
4.43Mt @ 1.04 g/t Au for 149,000 contained Ounces (@ 0.4 g/t cut-off)
In addition to the probable reserve there is a further 795,000t @ 1.09 g/t Au (for 28,000 Ounces contained) of Inferred Resources within the final pit design.
Stage one and two have been designed around the Probable Reserve with Stage three containing the bulk of the in-pit Inferred resources, and the remainder of the Probable Reserve. A detailed mine schedule has also been completed for the project which shows that the deposit can support a ~ 2.5Mtpa heap leach operation.
WHITE DAM FORWARD PROGRAMME
- Completion of an updated financial model for the project
- Project financing - discussions are well advanced with a number of interested parties.
- Approval for ground disturbance.
- Implementation of the construction plan.
- Targeting gold production late in Q4 2009 or early Q1 2010
Further results and information will be provided as they become available.
TABLE 1: White Dam Project OK Resource Estimate (0.4g/t cut-off grade)----------------------------------------------------Deposit Indicated Inferred---------------------------------------------------- Material ktonnes g/t koz ktonnes g/t koz Au Au Au Au---------------------------------------------------- Oxide 4,780 1.05 161 830 1.13 30White Fresh 830 1.04 28 1,150 0.87 33 Dam SUB TOTAL 5,610 1.05 189 1,980 0.98 63---------------------------------------------------- Oxide - - - 1,200 1.00 38 Fresh - - - 1,330 1.14 49 SUB TOTAL - - - 2,530 1.07 87----------------------------------------------------PROJECT TOTAL 5,610 1.05 189 4,510 1.03 150---------------------------------------------------- Total-------------------------- ktonnes g/t koz Au Au --------------------------White 5,610 1.06 191 Dam 1,980 0.95 60 7,590 1.03 251-------------------------- 1,200 1.00 38Vertigo 1,330 1.14 49 2,530 1.07 87--------------------------PROJECT TOTAL 10,120 1.04 338--------------------------
Note: White Dam resource was re-estimated in early 2009, Vertigo was estimated in 2007. Individual columns of data may not add up due to rounding errors.
For the Complete Exco Resources Announcement, please see below;
http://www.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/60545-ASX-EXS-444680.pdf
Contact
Michael Anderson
Managing Director
TEL: +61-8-9211-2000
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