IMX Resources (ASX: IXR) has updated Indicated Resources for the newly enlarged Sleeping Giant Deposit at its Ntaka Hill Nickel Sulphide Project in Tanzania to 17.2 million tonnes at 0.49% nickel for 84,280 tonnes of contained nickel.
Notably, the Resource does not include the G Zone, J Zone, M Zone and the Zeppelin Deposit. An updated global Resource estimate for Ntaka Hill is expected to be released soon.
The company had in 2012 estimated Indicated Resources at Sleeping Giant to be 9.665Mt at 1.25% nickel, reflecting the more conservative approach taken for the Resource estimate this year.
Modelling of drilling carried out in 2012 had confirmed the Sleeping Giant, L Zone, H Zone and NAD-013 deposits form a single large mineralised system it now refers to as the Sleeping Giant Deposit.
This has also led to a revised Inferred Resource of 29Mt at 0.7% nickel from 44.1Mt at 0.29% nickel in 2012. The average grade has recorded a substantial increase from the previous model despite the cut-off being increased to 0.3% nickel from 0.2% nickel.
This cut-off was also applied to the Indicated Resource as it more closely represents an economic cut-off for open pit mining.
“We are pleased to release this updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Sleeping Giant Deposit at our Ntaka Hill Project,” managing director Neil Meadows said.
“The improved grade of the inferred portion of the resource is significant as is the demonstration of the linkage between the various zones referred to previously as being separate.
“In addition, current, near surface drilling has continued to expand the open pit potential at Ntaka Hill, while future planned drilling is aimed at investigating the area down plunge of the high grade shoots within the Sleeping Giant deposit shown in the model output.”
Sleeping Giant
The company had in early 2013 engaged Dr Stephen Barnes of the Earth Science and Resource Engineering Division and Jigsaw Geoscience’s Jon Standing to improve its understanding of the mineral systems at the Ntaka Hill Nickel Sulphide Project.
They spent separately at the during the first quarter of 2013 studying diamond core and reviewed selective outcrops and suggested models for the genesis and structural controls of the mineralisation in the Ntaka Hill Intrusive.
This led to the current geological interpretation and Mineral Resource modelling of the Sleeping Giant Deposit, which incorporates the ideas of both Dr Barnes and Standing.
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