Sheffield Resources (ASX: SFX) has set its sights on an exploration target of 450-850 million tonnes at 5-10% heavy minerals (HM) for the Thunderbird Prospect at its Dampier mineral sands project.
The exploration target for the prospect near Derby in the Kimberley region of Western Australia follows a detailed review by Sheffield's geologists of past drilling by Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), who explored the Dampier project between 2003 and 2009.
Rio Tinto’s prior exploration indicates an average of 7.9% HM, with an average of 8% zircon in the heavy mineral assemblage which equates to an average in situ zircon grade of 0.63%2, placing Dampier amongst the top tier of zircon exploration projects.
Bruce McQuitty, Sheffield's managing director, said “Dampier has the makings of a tier one zircon project and could become a flagship project for Sheffield.”
Since Sheffield acquired the Dampier exploration licence in December 2010, zircon prices have almost trebled from $900/t to current levels of around $2,600/t, representing an astute deal for the company.
The project is well located with respect to infrastructure including the Great Northern Highway and the port of Derby, and falls outside the recently outlined Kimberley Heritage areas.
The company said Aboriginal Heritage Surveys over the project will be completed as soon as possible after the northern wet season, ahead of an aircore drilling program designed to enable estimation of an inferred resource and to provide representative samples for metallurgical work.
Sheffield expects this drilling will be undertaken in the second quarter of 2012.