COMPANY UPDATE MAY 2016

Transcription

1 COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS Maiden Scoping Study completed for the WIM s flagship Avonbank HMS Project confirms Avonbank as a world class, tier one HMS development project WIM Resource Pty Ltd (WIM) is a private mineral sands resource development company, with projects located along the southern edge of the Murray Basin, in Victoria. Avonbank Scoping Study confirms years 1-10 ROM path will be mined at an average strip ratio of 1.2:1 and 5.0% THM WIM Board approves fast track development of Avonbank PFS has commenced WIM appointed world leading mineral processing experts Mineral Technologies Pty Ltd to manage processing and flow sheet development and related test work for Avonbank PFS Geotechnical experts ATC Williams appointed to undertake geotechnical study for Avonbank PFS Maiden Bungalally Maiden Resource of 2.7% THM Wedderburn Resource updated to 2.9% THM WIM Resource Pty Ltd (WIM or the Company), a privately owned Australian Mineral Sands development company is pleased to provide all stakeholders a general company-wide update, covering work undertaken over the last six months. The company has three project in southern Victoria & plans to undertake detailed resource development studies on the Avonbank Heavy Mineral Sands project. Board and Executive Management Cixiong Cai Chairman Cathie Wu Director Eddy Wu CEO Tony Mason Exploration Manager Michael Winternitz Senior Geologist Chris Lee BDM Key Projects and Interests Avonbank Project (HM sands) 100% Wedderburn Project (HM sands) 100% Bungalally Project 100% WIM Resource Pty Ltd Contact Eddy Wu CEO ewu@wimresource.com.au Phone: (02) WIM has now defined three discrete JORC 2012 compliant mineral resources for Avonbank, Wedderburn & Bungalally - totalling near 1 Billion Tonnes of ore (Table 1). The Avonbank Project is modelled to have an average strip ratio of 1.2:1 (waste to ore) and grade of 5.0% THM (Total Heavy Mineral) for the first 10 years of mine life. The Bungalally & Wedderburn projects both have mineralisation from near surface (0.5:1 strip ratio in some areas). The location, existing infrastructure, close proximity to fully operational international ports and diverse mineralogical assemblage have positioned WIM in line with its vision to be a major supplier of valuable heavy minerals (figure 1).

2 Table 1: WIM Resource - portfolio PROJECT UNITS AVONBANK WEDDERBURN BUNGALALLY TOTALS/AVG TONNAGE tonnes 488,000, ,000, ,000, ,000,000 THM % IN SITU VHM tonnes 1,952,000, ,700, ,500,000 3,152,200,000 STRIP RATIO waste to ore ratio* 1.2 to 1 1 to 1 1 to 1 1 to 1 ZIRCON % RARE EARTHS % ILMENITE % LEUCOXENE % ANATASE % VHM % *Based on 1% THM cut off & approximate SR for years 1-10 ROM only Figure 1: WIM Resource Portfolio Regional Location Plan

3 AVONBANK PROJECT SCOPING STUDY The Company Board is very pleased to announce the positive results from the Maiden Scoping Study for WIM s flagship Avonbank HMS Project. The results of Scoping Study confirm that project has significant economic merit and underpins Avonbank as one of the world s foremost Zircon & Rare Earth development project. Key highlights include: Existing water, road & power infrastructure within the project area positions Avonbank as potentially the lowest CAPEX & highest quality Zircon & Rare Earth development projects in the world Avonbank will be amendable to conventional dry mining and primary wet separation techniques meaning the environmental & social footprint is expected to be very low and WIM will be employing simple, proven mining & separation techniques The Port of Portland & Melbourne provide WIM two options to transport bulk &/or containerised HMC on an existing rail connection, that currently operates from the centre of the project area The Avonbank project is modelled to produce over 450,000 tonnes per annum of HMC over its initial 32-year mine life Additionally, the Avonbank Project is expected to bring significant investment & local employment opportunities to Horsham & rural Victoria along with a boost to local and state economic growth. MINING WIM will use conventional dry HMS mining techniques & equipment to mine the ore body at an average rate of 12 million tonnes per annum, over a period of 32 years. Ore will be pushed by dozers into a Mining Unit Plant (MUP). The MUP will scrub the ore feed to liberate the VHM, remove oversize (+2mm) and the slurried ore pumped to the Wet Concentration Plant (WCP), located in the centre of the project area for primary separation. Following a period of settling, tailings will be co-disposed directly into the mining cell and will comprise the slime (-20um) fraction, gangue sand & net process water. REHABILITATION WIM will use a moving hole mining sequence that will reduce and mitigate the impact of mining on the local land form. WIM will reinstate the project area back to its original state, after a period of tailings settling and rehabilitation. This effective rehabilitation and low impact mining has been evidenced across the Murray Basin for over a decade and across Australia mineral sands mining has been well proven to be one of the lowest impact forms of mining.

4 PROCESSING Slurried ore will be pumped from the MUP to the primary concentration plant (PCP), located at the centre of project area where a modular bank of spirals will be used to separate the tailings (gangue sand fraction) from the valuable heavy minerals, to produce a Heavy Mineral Concentrate (HMC) with an approximate grade of 90-95%. Figure 2: Mindarie WCP Figure 3: Avonbank Ore on Spirals TRANSPORT WIM has an existing freight terminal within the centre of the project area and plans to transport bulk HMC direct via rail, to the Port of Portland (figure 5). A Panamax size vessel will transport the HMC to a Chinese port, direct from Portland. The HMC will be unloaded at a China based Port and transported via truck to WIM s partner MSP where the HMC will undergo mineral separation to produce final Zircon, Rare Earth Concentrate & Titania products. FINAL PRODUCTS The Avonbank project is ranked within the top 4 advanced Zircon projects in the world, with an approximate in-situ Zircon value of 0.9%. The project is expected to produce over 73,000 tonnes of Zircon, 6,000 tonnes of Rare Earth Concentrate & over 180,000 tonnes of Titania concentrate per annum, over its 32-year mine life. Figure 4: Avonbank Titania, Rare Earth & Zircon Products from phase 1 test work

5 Figure 5: Avonbank Infrastructure & Port Regional Location Plan

6 AVONBANK PROJECT - MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE The resource inventory that will form years 1-10 of mining, will have an estimated strip ratio of 1.2:1 (waste to ore) and a head grade of 5% THM. The Global Resource comprises a global mineral resource of million tonnes (Mt) of ore at 4.0% Total Heavy Mineral (THM) (Table 2). Table 2: Avonbank Global Resource Estimate (Optiro, 2015) Figure 6: 2015 Drilling at Avonbank

7 AVONBANK PROJECT BULK SAMPLE PROCESSING & PFS FLOW SHEET DESIGN WIM completed 191 air core (HQ size) drill holes, for a total of 5,970m. The drilling enabled WIM to sample 21 tonnes of ore, from within the central zone of the project. In March 2016, WIM appointed world leading HMS processing experts Mineral Technologies Ltd to process the bulk sample, with the view of developing a PFS level flow sheet. Test work to date has been very positive - stage 1 of the test work is expected to be completed by mid-may 2016 (figures 7 & 8). Figure 7: Top LHS: Bulk sample extraction, bottom LHS: 21 tonne bulk sample mixing, top RHS: scrubber & screen, bottom RHS: Preliminary Spiral Work

8 Figure 8: Avonbank first HMC, April 2016 COMPANY UPDATE

9 AVONBANK PROJECT PFS GEOTECHNICAL STUDY WIM appointed world leading geotechnical consultants ATC Williams to manage the PFS geotechnical & tailings study. In April 2016, WIM completed 6 PQ3 (6-inch diameter) drill holes across the central block of deposit (figure 9). The drilling will form the basis for the PFS level geotechnical study & groundwater studies and core will be tested for dry bulk density, THM & mineralogy as input into the resource estimate Wallis Diamond Rig Core from ore zone note the HM banding Installation of groundwater monitoring bores Dark HM banding in PQ3 core Figure 9: Geotechnical Drilling Program at Avonbank

10 AVONBANK PROJECT - FORWARD WORK PLAN WIM feels that the Avonbank Project represents a unique opportunity to add value to the Company s resource portfolio & advance towards becoming a producer of valuable heavy minerals, particularly Zircon. Resource development activities scheduled for include: Detailed mineralogical test work Continue discussion with relevant stakeholders, including rail, port & power providers Completion of Maiden PFS by January 2017 Preliminary discussions with potential offtake partners Commencement of DFS in early 2017 BUNGALALLY PROJECT WIM engaged mining experts Optiro Pty Ltd to assist with defining a maiden mineral resource estimate for the Bungalally Project (207 Million Tonnes of ore, with a total heavy mineral (THM) content of 2.7% (JORC 2012 compliant, Inferred, cut-off grade of 1% THM). There are higher grade areas of the resource (+3%THM) that are very shallow (strip ration <1:1 figure 10) and further work will now focus on a phased resource assessment and Scoping Study to be completed over these areas. Table 3: Bungalally Resource Estimate (using a 1% THM cut off) Classification Million tonnes THM %* Slimes % (- Oversize % 20µm) (+1mm) Percentage contained within THM* Ilmenite Zircon Leucoxene Rutile Anatase Monazite Inferred Total Figure 10: Bungalally Project Generalised Section, of the south-eastern block, looking north, not too scale

11 WEDDERBURN PROJECT WIM Resource s Wedderburn mineral sands project is located in south-eastern Victoria, centred approximately 25 km northeast of Charlton, Victoria. WIM completed 198 air core drill holes, for a total of 5,942m of drilling, between 2014 & 2016 (figure 11). In mid-2015, WIM engaged expert mining consultancy firm Optiro to prepare an updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Wedderburn Project using data obtained by WIM Resource during its 2014 and 2015 drilling programmes. The updated Wedderburn resource is estimated to contain 2.9% THM (JORC 2012, Indicated & Inferred Table 4). Significantly, part of the resource has average grade of +3% THM and is shallow lying (figure 12). Further work will now focus on a phased resource assessment and Scoping Study. Table 4: Wedderburn Resource Estimate (Optiro, 2015) Classification Million tonnes THM %* Ilmenite Zircon Leucoxene Percentage contained within THM* Rutile/Anatase Monazite Inferred Total Figure 11: Wedderburn drilling

12 Figure 12: Wedderburn Project - Central Block (northern line on central block): generalised section - illustrating the low strip ratio nature of the deposit (looking north, not too scale)

13 COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENTS This report has been compiled by Mr Michael Winternitz & Mr Anthony Mason. Mr Winternitz is full time employee of WIM Resource Pty Ltd as Senior Geologist & is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Mr Mason is WIM Resource s principal geological consultant, a member of AUSIMM. Both Mr Mason & Mr Winternitz have experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity they undertaking to qualify as Competent Persons as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. The principal personnel responsible for the preparation and review of the mineral resources included within the mineralisation reports are Mrs Christine Standing (Principal) and Mr Ian Glacken (Principal) of Optiro. The Mineral Resources at Avonbank, Wedderburn & Bungalally mineral sands deposits and their respective mineral estimate reports have been prepared by Mrs Christine Standing and reviewed by Mr Ian Glacken. Mrs Standing is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Mr Glacken is a Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Chartered Professional Geologist. Both Mrs Standing and Mr Glacken have sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mrs Christine Standing [BSc (Hons) Geology, Grad Cert (Min Econs), MAusIMM, MAIG] is a geologist with over 30 years extensive experience in the exploration and mining industry. She has been consulting in resource estimation and generating independent experts reports since 1988, and her skills include resource evaluation studies, grade control and reconciliation work. Christine is a Principal for Optiro in Perth and is involved in resource estimation, independent technical reviews, audits and valuations of exploration assets. FURTHER DETAILS Please visit for further details about the Company and our projects. Alternatively, please contact Mr Eddy Wu (CEO) for further details. -ENDS-