PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Phosphate explorer Fertoz has announced a maiden mineral resource of 1.54-million tonnes, grading 21.6% phosphorus pentoxide, at its Wapiti project, in Canada.
“The resource results exceed our expectations and suggest that the project has the capability to support production volumes of greater than 75 000 t/y,” said Fertoz MD Les Szonyi.
The resource was contained within an exploration target of between 2.9-million tonnes and 3.3-million tonnes, at between 20.8% and 22.2% phosphorus pentoxide.
Szonyi pointed out that exploration at Wapiti has included 81 diamond rill holes and multiple trenches and surface samples between 1978 and 2013.
Meanwhile, Szonyi noted that the construction of a new 2 km access road was nearly complete and Fertoz was expected to start extracting bulk material this month.
“The bulk sample collection process will also help us optimise our mining method for the small mining application of up to 75 000 t/y.”