Triton Mozambique Graphite Projects Update
Perth, May 11, 2015 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Triton Minerals Limited (
ASX:TON) (Triton, Company) is pleased to provide the following update in relation to ongoing work being undertaken at the Nicanda Hill, Ancuabe and Balama South projects.
Triton Minerals' Managing Director & CEO Brad Boyle said: "Triton feels these latest results continue to confirm the very high quality of the Nicanda Hill graphite deposit, as the trench samples demonstrate over 100m of continuous high grade mineralisation at the surface within the Mutola zone.
Funds raised by the recent $12 million Placement position Triton to continue with the rapid development at Nicanda Hill, with additional drilling and early works programs now underway.
Triton considers the initial drilling program at Ancuabe, which is seeking to define further economic resources of the high grade graphite mineralization, to be another important step in the creation of the full graphite product range of TMG."
NICANDA HILL
Triton has now commenced the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) drilling program at Nicanda Hill and has commenced planning for the proposed mine-site for pre-development early-works programs.
The drilling program will provide Triton with geotechnical, metallurgical and hydrological information, which represent crucial inputs to the DFS, which is currently underway and on schedule for completion by the end of the fourth quarter in 2015.
The DFS drilling program will also include sterilisation drilling at a number of locations around the Nicanda Hill deposit prior to construction of the site camp, access and haul roads, tailings dam facility and plant site, to ensure that no additional economic graphitic resources are inadvertently excluded. Drilling for a supplemental process water supply will also be completed during this program.
Triton confirms additional drilling has also been planned to confirm the resource interpretation and establish the optimum grade control pattern within the limits of the Years 1 to 10 design pit.
The Company advises the grade control test area is centred on the area of the trench or Costean_N4, which will likely be one of the first areas at Nicanda Hill scheduled for mining. The samples from the costean consisted of 2m composites obtained from along the entire length of the trench. The encouraging results recently received from Costean_N4 are summarised in Table 1 and Figure 1 in link below.
The costean was positioned to provide confirmation of the drilling-based resource interpretation of the high grade Mutola Zone.
The results obtained from the costean confirm, exactly as predicted by the graphite resource model, the presence of a continuous high grade graphitic mineralisation, averaging 12.8% Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC), over a 102m horizontal width at surface (ie. no overburden).
Within this high grade graphite zone, the Mutola Zone shows continuous graphitic mineralisation of 92m grading 14.7% TGC with no intrusions, providing zero internal dilution. The costean samples also identified a number of locations where the graphite grades exceeded 20% TGC.
Triton considered these results and observations from the Costean_N4 to be encouraging, as the higher graphite grades and the substantial widths of the graphitic material containing zero internal dilution, are all located at surface and are easily extracted.
The Company feels these latest results continue to significantly confirm the robustness of the original resource model competed by independent geological consultants, Optiro back in October 2014 defining the world's largest known graphite and vanadium deposit at Nicanda Hill.
The results of the additional drill program will be combined with all previous drilling information in order to provide an update of both the global graphite resource and the likely graphite resource that will be targeted for mining in the first ten years of graphite production.
Another key objective of the additional drilling program is to provide sufficient information to underpin an upgrade in resource classification of material significance and thus, hopefully, form the basis of developing a substantial quantity of proven graphite reserves and will provide a more accurate basis for the DFS.
Implementation of this accelerated development strategy is consistent with Triton's plans to commence production at Nicanda Hill, subject to receiving Government approvals and permits, towards the end of 2016. The preliminary concept for the Nicanda Hill site layout is shown in Figure 3 i link below.
Triton confirms the Environmental, Social, Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) being undertaken by Coastal and Environmental Services (Pty) Ltd (CES) is on schedule, with the completion of the wet season baseline studies program and the subsequent report that has now been filed with the Mines Department. The dry season baseline field program will commence in early June 2015.
ANCUABE
Triton verifies that a total of 1,189 line kms of helicopter-borne VTEM data was captured over the Ancuabe project area during the 2014 survey program. The data from this survey highlighted several high priority areas that are located just north of AMG's, GK graphite operation (refer to Figure 4 in link below).
The initial bulk sampling taken from Target Area 1, as announced by Triton on 29 April 2015, has produced very encouraging metallurgical results, with predominantly large to jumbo graphite flake sizes being recovered with grades of up to 98.7% TGC. The final flotation sizing results are expected to be received by Triton shortly.
Triton confirms that preparations are currently underway to commence an initial drill testing of selected targets. The required environmental management plan (EMP) process that allows Triton to undertake ground-disturbing activities for such as drilling, has now been completed.
Southern Geoscience Consultants based in Perth, has been contracted by the Company to undertake 2D modelling of the VTEM survey data. Triton expects that this modelling will provide more accurate locations for the proposed initial drilling program at Ancuabe, which the Company aims to commence in June 2015.
CES have also been contracted by Triton to undertake the Environmental, Social, Health and Impact Assessment (ESHIA) for Ancuabe and will commence the dry season baseline sampling program in June 2015.
As previously announced by Triton on 31 July 2014, the initial limited reconnaissance mapping program conducted on Balama South, exploration license 5304, located numerous occurrences of large flake graphite mineralisation and the presence of vanadium hosting roscoellite (refer to Figure 6 in link below).
Triton confirms that an initial 50kg bulk sample has now been collected from the western target areas of the Balama South project.
The Balama South graphitic material located to date by the Company, appears to be visually similar to some of the Ancuabe graphitic material obtained during the recent sampling program and the initial metallurgical characterisation tests, yet to be conducted by Mintek (Johannesburg), will serve as a basis for the ongoing project assessment and subsequent drill targeting.
Triton verifies that the Balama South project area is also well located with respect to road infrastructure and water resources and, subject to further results, may be developed as either as a stand-alone operation or may become a satellite operation to supplement the proposed Nicanda Hill graphite mine.
CONCLUSIONS
The latest assay results from Nicanda Hill continues to confirm the very high quality nature of TMG.
Should Triton be able to demonstrate economic quantities of large and jumbo flake graphite at Ancuabe and Balama South projects, it could complement the TMG products range and provide the Company with the potential to produce large volumes of high grade (high value) graphite in the full range of flake sizes, thereby accommodating a wider range of end-user requirements.
Triton is rapidly working towards establishing TMG as a new global graphite-industry benchmark, by aiming to offer the world's lowest cost and most diversified graphite product range together with the longevity of a reliable supply of high quality flake graphite.
To view all tables and figures, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-TON-719081.pdf
About Triton Minerals Ltd
Triton Minerals Limited (ASX:TON) is an ASX listed, responsible mineral explorer and resource management company headquartered in Perth, Australia.
Led by a highly experienced management team, Triton Minerals' vision is to grow shareholder's value through discovery or development of base metal, gold and other precious metal deposits.
Triton has made excellent progress with its three Graphite projects located in the Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique, with the program successfully identifying a number of graphitic exposures.
It is the Company's belief that the Mozambique, Balama North Project could host multiple and very substantial world class graphite deposits.
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