Transcription of Finance News Network Interview with Robust Resources Limited (ASX:ROL) managing director, Gary LewisClive Tompkins: Hello Clive Tompkins reporting for the Finance News Network. Joining me from gold and base metals explorer Robust Resources
(ASX:ROL) for an update is Managing Director, Gary Lewis.
Gary welcome back. You’ve had a busy period drilling at Batu Mas and Batu Hitam on South Romang Island. Both targets are part of your Lakuwahi project. Can you tell us the size of the area and how long you’ve been drilling?
Gary Lewis: Well thanks for the opportunity Clive. We’ve been drilling up there for just under three years, since early 2009. Batu Hitam runs east to west of about a kilometre and north to south by about 800 or 900 metres, so it’s quite a large area.
Clive Tompkins: So Gary what has the latest drilling revealed at Batu Hitam?
Gary Lewis: Well we’ve recently completed 21 drill holes just at Batu Hitam and we’ve had a greater than 90 per cent success rate. And really what it’s done is enhanced our knowledge of the area which is important, it’s what exploration drilling is all about. But also expanded the mineralisation on all fronts - on the east side, west side and south side. So really open in all cardinal directions and at depth as well.
Well for example in Batu Hitam West, we’re seeing consistent intervals of near-surface gold and silver mineralisation. We’re getting zones of over 80 metres at 1.24 grams per tonne of gold equivalent. In the south we’re seeing both gold and base metal intersections, 80 plus metres again at better than one per cent copper equivalent. And in the east we’re seeing very high grades of gold and copper. So what it’s really done is expanded the zones of mineralisation on all those fronts.
Clive Tompkins: And Gary now to Batu Mas to the west of Batu Hitam, you recently announced significant new results. What did the drilling reveal?
Gary Lewis: Well Clive it’s a very similar story in Batu Mas and Batu Hitam, obviously they’re lookalike prospects. We’re seeing an incredibly high success rate from our exploration drilling there. For example, the recently announced drill hole 151, 168 metres at over a gram gold equivalent, we had a zone there of over 100 metres of one and a half grams gold equivalent. Beneath that and partially overlapping that 115 metres of over one per cent copper equivalent, so it’s really opened up that whole western area.
Similar in the east, we’ve had our best ever hits of copper, nearly eight per cent copper equivalent/7.74 per cent copper equivalent which is an incredibly good number. And also in the south, we’re seeing grades up to 14 grams – over 14 grams gold and over 1.3 per cent copper equivalent as well. So again, it’s been an excellent phase of drilling and really opened up the prospectivity of that prospect as well.
Clive Tompkins: So Gary, what does this mean for the exploration potential of the area?
Gary Lewis: Look it’s a strange thing to say, we’ve been drilling for three years now and these results are showing that it’s still very early stages for us. You know, to get a 206 metre intersection on a 166 hole shows that there’s still a lot more to come in this area. And so being open in all these cardinal directions as I’ve said, and at depth, really shows great levels of prospectivity and great opportunity for the business moving into next year.
Clive Tompkins: So Gary can you put these results into perspective for us. What does it mean for the resource estimate and the potential scale of the project?
Gary Lewis: We’ll be finalising and reporting our main JORC-compliant resource in the next week or so. Whilst this is a pleasing milestone, I think the drilling we’ve got planned for next year will show that now we can significantly expand on that resource, as we move into the new prospect areas. Importantly we have title over the entire island and in the maiden JORC, represent less than two per cent of the bottom one third of the island.
Clive Tompkins: Now to 2012. How does North Romang Island feature?
Gary Lewis: Well North Romang will continue to tick along in the background. We announced some months back the commencement of 5,000 metre drill program up in the north - that will continue. On the completion of that program we will assess that data. There’s been no drilling in the north to date, so we need to assess the data and that will determine our priorities for the second phase drilling program.
Clive Tompkins: Last question Gary. What is the long-term strategy for Robust Resources - is it to become a producer on Romang Island?
Gary Lewis: Our aspiration to become producers in fact is a short to medium term one. We’ve appointed a chief operating officer; we’ve commenced scoping studies on the near-surface gold and silver mineralisation at Batu Mas and Batu Hitam. And we’ll be commencing pre feasibility studies this fiscal year.
The long term strategy has always been to get cash into the business as quickly as possible, so that we could fund the development and the exploration on the island. It’s a huge project potentially and what we want to do is maintain tight control over the capital structure for the benefit of the shareholders.
Clive Tompkins: Gary Lewis congratulations on a very encouraging drilling campaign.
Gary Lewis: Thanks Clive.
Ends
