JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mineral sands miner Base Resources on Tuesday announced an upgrade and increase in mineral resources for its 100%-owned Kwale project, in Kenya.
The company explained that the updated mineral resource estimate – which revealed a combined overall increase of 5% for total material tonnes and 2% for heavy mineral (HM) tonnes at the mine’s Central and South dune deposits – was the product of new drilling, assaying and mineralogical testwork, bulk density testwork and updated resource estimation work.
Base said despite depletion caused by mining about 360 000 t of HM from the Central deposit, the mine’s total measured and indicated material resource had still increased to 152.7-million tonnes from the 146-million tonnes reported in May 2011.
Further, Kwale’s HM resources now amounted to 7.25-million tonnes, up from the previously reported 7.1-million tonnes.
The company noted that excluding depletion by mining to June 30, 2014, these figures represented an overall increase in the Kwale project mineral resources of 8% for material tonnes and a 7% increase for HM tonnes on the previously reported mineral resources at the start of the project.
In addition, Base also noted that there had been an increase in the confidence of the Kwale mineral resources with 81% of the material tonnes and 88% of the HM tonnes now falling in the Joint Ore Reserves Committee measured category.
“These updated mineral resources would form the basis for the preparation and reporting of updated Kwale project ore reserves over the next couple of months,” the company stated.