PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mineral sands developer Image Resources has doubled the mineral resource at its Boonanarring mineral sands project, in Western Australia.
As part of a bankable feasibility study (BFS) on its Boonanarring and Atlas deposits, Image updated the Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource estimate for its project area, which resulted in a 103% increase in the mineral resource from 21.5-million tonnes to 43.7-million tonnes.
However, Image pointed out on Friday that the updated mineral resource contained a lower heavy minerals grade, with the cutoff grade now at 2%, rather than the 2.5% previously estimated.
The increase in the mineral resource resulted from an expanded area of mineralisation, following drilling that was completed in 2013, and the delineation of a substantially contiguous layer of lower-grade mineralisation overlaying the high-grade mineralised strands.
The application of a lower cutoff grade also assisted in increasing the resource, Image told shareholders.
The updated mineral resource will now be incorporated into an updated mine design, modelling and scheduling as part of the BFS, which is scheduled for completion by the end of March.