PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Explorer Arunta Resources has declared a maiden inferred resource of 225 066 t of tungsten at its Hatches Creek project, in the Northern Territory.
Grading at 0.58% tungsten, the project is estimated to contain about 1 311 t of tungsten.
The company said on Tuesday that the maiden resource confirmed that there was sufficient tonnage of high-grade near-surface material to support a potential near-term development of Hatches Creek. The maiden resource would now underpin a scoping study, which would be completed before the end of the year.
The scoping study would assess the viability of starting production in 2015.
Arunta said on Tuesday that the company had received strong expression of interest from speciality metals traders for potential offtake of tungsten concentrate from the Hatches Creek project, giving the company confidence in the commercial imperatives to fast-track development.