The ASIA Miner - Reporting Important Issues to Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region
Issue link: https://asiaminer.epubxp.com/i/632337
20 | ASIA Miner | Volume 13 • Issue 1 | 2016 Indonesia AN extensive round of drilling at Asiamet Resources' Beruang Kanan Main (BKM) copper deposit in Central Kalimantan has enabled the company formerly known as Kalimantan Gold to announce a 43% in- crease in total contained copper. The de- posit, which forms part of the KSK Cop- per-Gold Project, now contains 887 million pounds or 402,000 tonnes of copper. The updated resource includes a large in- crease of 231 million pounds, or 105,000 tonnes, in the higher confdence indicated category. There has also been 35 million pounds, of 18,000 tonnes, added in the inferred category. There is now 26% of the total resource in the indicated category. Asiamet CEO Tony Manini says, "Asiamet is very pleased with the updated mineral re- source estimate. The positive attributes of the BKM deposit delineated by the 2015 drilling program are clearly highlighted in this estimate. "The mineral resource inventory has sig- nifcantly increased in size; resource con- fdence has been substantially upgraded; and discrete zones of shallow higher grade mineralization have been identifed." Drilling has delineated two near-surface high-grade zones that could act as low cost starter pits with enhanced economics. Asi- amet believes there is a substantial invento- ry of further copper at a 0.5% cut-off grade that provides a solid basis for mining studies being carried out as part of the BKM prelimi- nary economic assessment (PEA). The PEA is expected to be published in the current quarter and will provide Asiamet with some guide to the economics of a low- cost mining operation at BKM. "The focus of our work programs now moves to the key mining studies, detailed copper heap leach test work and the var- ious inputs into the PEA," Tony Manini says. "Excellent progress has been made to achieve this important milestone on time and budget." Since announcing the new resource Asi- amet has received highly encouraging drill results from a potential satellite deposit. They are from Beruang Kanan South (BKS) prospect, which is around 1km from the BKM deposit. One hole yielded 10 metres at 2.52% copper from less than 20 metres below sur- face and within this was a two-metre sec- tion grading 7.45%. Grades across the oth- er four holes drilled, which were fairly widely spaced, ranged from between 0.67% at the low end to 3.83% at the upper end. They were found over thicknesses of one to 3.5 metres and occurred at between 7.5 me- tres and 58.5 metres below surface. WESTERN Mining Network has executed a defnitive agreement to acquire PT Grafndo Nusantara (GFN), Indonesia's leading private graphite company which has 8 million JORC-compliant tonnes of graphite in West Kalimantan. The signifcant expansion of Western's Indonesian resource base sets the stage for the company's next phase of development. Western is acquiring GFN in return for 25 million new Western shares and there is no cash consideration. GFN holds two major tenements in the Jangkang district, one of which, TST, is primed for development with an established JORC re- source on the Balai Sebut deposit and a mining licence valid until July 2023. There are excellent logistics, including a mostly paved road to the provincial capital of Pontianak. Preliminary estimates indicate a resource grade in excess of 10% graphitic carbon, placing the asset in a unique class on a global scale. The ore delineated hosts a large proportion of fake graphite, which is the raw material required by battery manufacturers. GFN has carried out extensive work on the mineralogy and a portion of the ore zones has been mined for bulk sampling purposes. Work on the adjacent exploration property has defned 10 more graphite prospects, providing signifcant upside. Western says the tenements add to the portfolio of graphite mining as- sets it is acquiring to build an integrated carbon business with its technol- ogy and industrial partners. In combination with its Tamboli asset in Central Sulawesi, the GFN properties strengthen Western's long-term plan to use Indonesian graphite to feed into a larger downstream business in Asia. Several years of research has been done on TST, leading to a high level of confdence in the quality of the product that can be produced. GFN has developed an alliance with several Indonesian universities and has funded several research projects on graphite based technolo- gies and graphene applications. It also has an experienced local team in place capable of moving the project into the development phase and beyond. Western says the TST tenement forms an important part of its scop- ing study which is expected to be completed in the frst half of 2016. Further resource defnition work is under way to upgrade the JORC status. Meantime, Western has secured an Aus$6 million share placement with UK institutional investor Lanstead Capital which will be used to advance its Indonesian work. Lanstead is expected to be a valuable source of feedback and advice for Western based on its decades of market experience. Western acquires graphite projects There are many prospects to explore within Asi- amet Resources' KSK Copper-Gold Project in Central Kalimantan. BKM copper resource increases 43%