Rum Jungle Resources Limited (ASX:RUM) Update on Barrow Creek 1 Drilling Progress at the Ammaroo Phosphate Project
Perth, Aug 22, 2011 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Rum Jungle Resources Limited (
ASX:RUM) commenced reverse Circulation drilling at the Barrow Creek 1 Deposit on Tuesday 15th August. Drilling is currently progressing at a rate in excess of 300 metres per day. A total 20,000 metres is planned for this program which will focus on extending the area of the resource and infilling the shallow high grade phosphate zones at 50 metre infill spacing. The objective of the latter being to define high grade (plus 30% P2O5) DSO.
Initial extensional drilling is currently being carried out contiguous to the northwest boundary of the known resource and is off to a promising start with holes located on a 200 metre spaced grid encountering strong phosphate readings at shallow depth.
ORE BENEFICIATION
Extensive trenching in three trenches has tested free digging phosphate rock less than 7 metres below the land surface.
A two tonne bulk sample collected from trench number two has been comprehensively treated at the testing laboratory in Adelaide.
The data in Table 1 is extremely encouraging as it demonstrates that by simply screening the coarser product removed from the trench divides the bulk into a high grade and low grade sample.
The table demonstrates that the overall head assay of the 2.045 tonne sample was 21.6% P2O5. However if the coarser fraction of 1.127 tonnes (54% of the total) that would not pass through a 13.2mm (approximately half inch) mesh screen was retained, it would have a head assay of 28% P2O5.
In addition to Trench 3 currently being tested, other samples of run of mill ore are to be excavated and treated similarly at the testing laboratories in Adelaide to confirm the reliability of this beneficiation opportunity over a large-scale area. Some harder material from diamond drill core will also be put through a primary crusher and then screened and tested.
QUANTITATIVE ASSAY DATA CHECK
There are two recognized standard analytical methods for determining phosphate assays. The cheaper, more widely used method is ICP4, which forms the basis for the ore reserve calculations completed on the Barrow Creek 1 Resource. More recently we have been re-assaying some intersections and finding that a more costly XRF assay is producing higher grade assays. More specifically, we submitted 100 duplicate samples for check assay using both methods and found the XRF method was on average assaying an additional 3% higher than the ICP4 method.
A recently completed diamond core drilling program enabled us to drill 32 large diameter PQ core holes within the resource area. This information will provide invaluable data such as density measurements for the ore, metallurgical characteristics and stratigraphic information for understanding the ore consistency and its surrounding strata. Most importantly, 425 core samples representing one meter intervals within the phosphate layer are being assayed by both analytical methods, ICP4 and XRF to determine what approach to take in the future.
ROCK MECHANICS AND MINING
Some preliminary consideration has been given to an efficient way of mining given the unique characteristics of this deposit. Some bulk samples were forwarded to a large mining equipment company in Western Australia. Rock specialists from the U.S.A have conducted point load tests on the bulk samples. They have estimated that using a downward cutting surface excavating machine, each machine could mine at 300 and 600 tonnes per hour at a very competitive mining cost.
It would seem likely that a trial mining exercise using such a machine on site could be attempted next year when the resource drilling is complete.
For the complete Rum Jungle Resources announcement including tables and figures, please view:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-RUM-359449.pdf
About Verdant Minerals Ltd
Verdant Minerals Ltd's (ASX:VRM) strategic intent is to create shareholder value through the discovery, development and operation of fertiliser and industrial mineral projects, located in close proximity to existing transport infrastructure, with a primary focus on the Northern Territory of Australia.
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