JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Exploration work at FSE- and Aim-listed Bluejay Mining’s Pituffik titanium project and Disko-Nuussuaq magmatic massive sulphide nickel-copper-platinum project, in Greenland, has kicked off.

This follows the approval of the group’s 2017 exploration programmes by Greenland’s Mineral Licence and Safety Authority.

“The 2017 work programme has begun. Development plans have been on the drawing board since the completion of our 2016 season and the finalised work programme is streamlined to deliver maximum results for cost. This will be a value-add second half, as we demonstrate the true scale of this very unique project,” said Bluejay CEO Roderick McIllree.

Pituffik has an inferred resource of 23.6-million tonnes at 8.8% ilmenite in situ, including a high-grade zone of 7.9-million tonnes at 14.2% ilmenite, both of which are within an exploration target of between 90-million and 130-million tonnes, with an in situ grade of between 6.3% and 8.4% ilmenite.

McIllree noted that Pituffik has been regarded as one of the highest-grade ilmenite projects globally, with Bluejay planning to demonstrate its size, characteristics and ultimate commercial value through three primary work programmes scheduled for completion this year.

These include the expansion and upgrading of resources using both auger and sonic drilling; a proof-of-concept bulk sampling programme; the production of geotechnical information for civil construction, which will be completed ahead of the potential construction of supporting infrastructure at the Moriusaq target in early 2018; and a bathymetric survey of a shipping channel to allow a bulk carrier to access Moriusaq.

Moriusaq and Interlak are the two primary target areas.

Drilling with both sonic and auger drill rigs will concentrate on increasing the total mineral inventory, with work particularly focusing on the Interlak region, where some of the highest grades were encountered in 2016.

Drilling is scheduled to start in July, continuing until September 2017.

Bluejay also plans to undertake a bulk sampling programme this month, which will include the dredging of material from the active, raised and drowned beach environments to prove the company’s ability to deliver product, based on its current production model.

“Target groups for the bulk sample and offtakers have been identified and the mechanics of delivery and other technical support are in place. Evaluation of ground conditions for civil construction will also occur during the programme to enable the best construction methods for the infrastructure required at Pituffik,” noted McIllree.

Most of the bulk sample will be shipped from site in early August 2017.

Further, the side-scan sonar, coupled with bathymetry surveying, will be undertaken over several weeks to identify shipping and transport logistics in and out of Moriusaq.

Meanwhile, the Disko-Nuussuaq work programme will take place in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Following a thorough review of the data from decades of exploration work undertaken at Disko, Bluejay has formulated a development programme and intends to undertake a ground-based electromagnetic survey (EM) on the southern portion of the licence area.

This will focus on three primary target areas – Jose, Placido and Luciano.

“Three ground-based deep-penetration EM surveys will be conducted with the aim of detecting strong bedrock conductors that might be associated with Norilsk-style (Ni-Cu-Pd bearing) sulphide mineralisation,” said McIllree.

Meanwhile, Southern Geoscience Consultants has completed a full data compilation review and reprocess and has designed and will execute the next phase of work programmes to identify optimal drill hole locations in 2018.

This programme will be conducted using equipment that will be demobilised from Pituffik, which represents a huge cost saving compared with a standalone survey, the company concluded.