Perpetual Resources Ltd (ASX:PEC) is set to kick off a reconnaissance auger drilling program later this month at the Beharra Silica Sand Project, 300 kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia.
This comes after the company received program of works (POW) approval from the WA Government’s Department of Mines, Industry, Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) for the shallow auger drill program.
The drill program aims to test the northern end of the Beharra exploration licence for the extension of pale grey sands delineated at the southern end of the tenement area.
Plans are underway to carry out a similar reconnaissance drilling exploration program in the near future at the Beharra West tenement.
Drilling approval finalised
Perpetual managing director Robert Benussi said of the PoW approval: “It was pleasing to receive the required drilling approval from DMIRS and concluded access agreements with landholders to allow testing of the northern end of the tenement for extension of pale grey silica sand.
“Previous exploration activities at Beharra by Perpetual have focused on the southern end of the tenement where an indicated mineral resource of 139 million tonnes at 98.6% SiO2 has been reported.”
Drill program
The exploration area being targeted is mostly cleared open farmland with some areas at the southern end of the target area comprising native vegetation cover.
No clearing is proposed and existing tracks will be utilised. Drilling will comprise about 36 shallow (6 to 8 metres depth) auger holes on approximate 400-metre hole spacing.
The target area also contains gas and oil infrastructure (wells and pipelines) and these areas are excluded from any exploration activities.
Notably, the drill program should be completed in two to three days.
About Beharra Project
The Beharra Project comprises a single exploration licence, E70/5221, initially covering an effective land area of 56.8 square kilometres.
In June 2021 Mining Lease M70/1406 was awarded covering an effective land area of 10.34 square kilometres for a period of 21 years.
M70/1406 covers the southern end of EL70/5221 which has resulted in a reduction of this exploration tenement to 48.55 square kilometres.
E70/5951 Beharra West consists of a north-south strip of freehold land with an effective area of 44.8 square kilometres and lies directly west of E70/5221 on the western side of the Yardanogo Nature Reserve. Beharra West and Beharra make up the Beharra Silica Sand Project.
Auger and aircore drilling have confirmed the presence of extensive, high purity silica sands, with a maiden mineral resource estimate completed in July 2020.
A detailed pre-feasibility study and maiden ore reserve for Beharra was released to the ASX on March 17, 2021.
Subsequent rounds of bulk metallurgical testing have further improved the potential final product specifications at Beharra.
Silica Sands market
Silica sands have an extensive range of uses, with lower purity (<99.5% SiO2) and lower priced applications including construction sand, proppant sand used in well fracturing, and foundry sand.
With increasing purity (>99.5% SiO2) and price, uses include glass making including ultra-clear glass, with the main determinant of the sand’s suitability for specific applications and pricing being the level of the key impurity iron oxide (Fe2O3).
Significant expansion of solar PV cell manufacturing capacity globally is driving demand for silica sand with Fe2O3 content of <200ppm and lowe, which is a key focus market for Beharra.