PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Talga Resources has tripled its total indicated and inferred resource inventory across Sweden with the announcement of a maiden Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource at the Jalkunen graphite project.
A maiden inferred resource of 31.5-million tonnes, grading 14.9% graphitic carbon, containing 4.7-million tonnes of contained graphite has been estimated at Jalkunen, taking Talga's total graphite inventory to more than 43-million tonnes, containing some 6.9-million tonnes of graphite.
“The Jalkunen resource estimate is extremely encouraging on a number of fronts,” said Talga MD Mark Thompson.
“Not only does it elevate the project from target to resource status, it springboards into the top nine graphite deposits by size and is within the top six for grade of worldwide graphite resources.”
Thompson pointed out that the resource was defined by the first drill test at Jalkunen and consisted of relatively few holes, indicating that the deposit had a high potential for further growth.
“Also, the Jalkunen resource sits close to the previously announced Jalkunen exploration target, which provides encouragement regarding endowment of the remaining graphite exploration target portfolio.”
Metallurgical work and further technical analysis would be undertaken on the drill core and the outcomes of this work, in conjunction with developments at the Vittangi project, would be considered as part of an overall Jalkunen review.
Further resource drilling was also being considered at Jalkunen to enhance scale and classification of the resource, as there was a potential to jointly develop both projects given their proximity and processing similarities. However, Talga noted that there was no immediate imperative to fast-track any decision in this regard.