Vanadium/Titanium Resource Upgrade
Including 170% Increase in Measured & Indicated Resources
HIGHLIGHTS
• New Mineral Resource estimate by Runge increases the Vanadium Resource at Buckman to 1.6 billion tonnes at 0.29% V2O5 and 1.9% Ti including Indicated and Inferred categories based on drilling in 2010, up from previous Resource of 1.17 billion tonnes at 0.3% V2O5 and 2% Ti.
• Included in this estimate was the maiden definition of Indicated Resources at Buckman of 651 million tonnes at 0.3% V2O5 and 2% Ti, which has resulted in a 170% increase in the combined Measured and Indicated Resources from all deposits on the Speewah tenements;
• Total combined Resources at Speewah now 3.6 billion tonnes at 0.30% V2O5 and 2% Ti;
• Drilling planned for 2011 to test for an additional Exploration Target of 2 - 5 billion tonnes at 0.30-0.32% V2O5 and 1.8-2.0% Ti at Speewah;
• Exploration Programme initiated with the construction of road and access tracks commenced at Speewah;
• Heli-borne EM survey to be flown in June, with drilling planned to commence early July 2011.
MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE
Speewah Metals Limited (“Speewah” or “the Company”) (ASX: SPM) is very pleased to report a substantial increase in Mineral Resources at the Buckman vanadium deposit to a total Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource estimated at 1,577Mt at 0.29% V2O5, 1.9% Ti and 14.6% Fe, at a block cut-off grade of 0.23% V2O5 (Table A) within the 100% owned Speewah Project (Figure 1 of the ASX announcement).
The Mineral Resource has also been updated to include all three deposits at Central, Red Hill and Buckman (Table B) (Figure 1of the ASX announcement). The combined Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources totals 3,566 Mt at 0.30% (at 0.23% V2O5 cut-off grade) in the three deposits, comprising a Measured Resource of 201 Mt at 0.33% V2O5, Indicated Resource of 826 Mt at 0.30% V2O5 and an Inferred Resource of 2,539 Mt at 0.3% V2O5.
Included within this combined total, there is a high grade zone of 1,541 Mt at 0.35% (at 0.23% V2O5 cut-off grade), comprising a Measured Resource of 115 Mt at 0.37% V2O5, Indicated Resource of 298 Mt at 0.35% V2O5 and an Inferred Resource of 1,128 Mt at 0.35% V2O5. Included within this high grade zone there is 434 Mt at 0.37% (at 0.23% V2O5 cut-off grade) at the Central Deposit, comprising a Measured Resource of 115 Mt at 0.37% V2O5, Indicated Resource of 85 Mt at 0.38% V2O5 and an Inferred Resource of 234 Mt at 0.37% V2O5.
Mineral Resource estimation has been undertaken by Runge Limited (“Runge”). It includes assay results from the latest phase of drilling completed in 2010. The Resource tonnes, grade and classification have been estimated at a block model cut-off grade of 0.23% V2O5 (see explanatory notes provided in Attachment 1 of the ASX announcement).
DIRECTOR’S COMMENTARY
The Board is very pleased to be able to deliver another significant increase in the Resource which is many times larger in terms of contained vanadium than any other Australian vanadium-in-magnetite project. The key aspects of this announcement include:
• Significant increase in Buckman Resource;
• Upgrading the Buckman deposit Resources to include Indicated Resources under the JORC Code;
• An important outcome of this Resource estimate is with the upgrade in classification in the Buckman deposit to include Indicated resources, there is now 1,027 million tonnes at 0.3% V2O5 in the Measured and Indicated categories (Table B of the ASX announcement) from all three deposits, which is a 170% increase over previous estimates of 376 million tonnes at 0.3% V2O5.
There are several other areas within the Speewah Dome with magnetite bearing gabbro that will be drilled in 2011 to test for an additional Exploration Target of 2-5Bt at 0.30-0.32% V2O5 and 1.8-2.0% Ti*.
The increase in Resources at Buckman has been based on drilling completed in 2010 where the focus was predominantly on testing copper-gold-silver targets elsewhere in the Speewah Dome.
This Resource upgrade represents partial completion of one of the key objectives in respect of the vanadium project to be delivered during 2011, which is doubling the combined total vanadium-titanium Resource including doubling of each of the Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource categories.
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