Amur Minerals Corp (AIM: AMC) said the Russian State Committee on Reserves (GKZ) has completed its review and a protocol has been issued allowing for the addition of the Maly Krumkon reserves to those previously approved for the other two deposits of the Kun-Manie nickel copper licence area in east Russia.
The GKZ has already approved and certified reserve statements for the Ikenskoe and Vodorazdelny deposits at Kun-Manie.
Shares were up more than 6 percent in midday trades, off highs reached just after the news broke.
CEO Robin Young commented: “Amur now has Russian approved mining reserves and open pit mine plans for three deposits that can now be submitted with its application for a mining licence at Kun-Manie. These sulphide reserves contain nickel and copper as well as the by-product metals of cobalt, platinum and palladium."
The current JORC compliant estimate envisages 31.5 million tonnes grading 0.54 percent nickel for 171,296 tonnes Ni and grading 0.15 percent copper for 47,023 tonnes Cu. The GKZ resource estimates 31.7 million tonnes grading 0.64 percent Ni for 203,900 tonnes and 0.18 percent Cu for 56,900 tonnes.
Russian reserves utilise C1 and C2 categories which approximate the Australian JORC proven and probable reserves classes.
In addition, by-product contents have also been approved by the Russian authorities for all three deposits. These include cobalt, platinum and palladium. The GKZ estimate is for 3,960 tonnes of cobalt, 189,400 ounces of platinum and 213,800 ounces of palladium for the three deposits at Kun-Manie.
Everything is in place to move Amur Minerals from being a junior explorer to a mid tier mining company. It has relinquished its exploration licence at Anadjakan, where results had been unexciting, in order to focus on Kun-Manie and Kustak, its two contiguous nickel projects on the Kumkron trend in Amur Province in Far East Russia.
Following a fundraising earlier this yea,r which gave the group US$3 million in cash and marketable securities through a series of transactions, it has sufficient cash until spring 2010, with US$927,000-worth of shares in Grafton Resources Investments held in reserve for sale if required.