Manuka Resources Limited: 360% increase in Mt Boppy Total Gold Resources
80% increase in ‘Measured Indicated’
Manuka Resources Limited (“Manuka” or the “Company”) is pleased to release an updated Mineral Resources Estimate at Mt Boppy. Gold production recently recommenced from the Project, initially from the screening of rock and tailings dumps[i].
Highlights:
- Mt Boppy Total Gold Resources increased nearly 4 fold, to 160,100ozs grading 2.01g/t Au, including
Measured Resources of 106,850t at 5.25 g/t Au for 18,028 oz gold;
Indicated Resources of 715,088t at 2.54 g/t Au for 58,477 oz gold; and
Inferred Resource of 1,770,335t at 1.47 g/t Au for 83,608 oz gold.
- Measured Indicated (M) Resources are up ~79% to ~76.5koz grading 3.53g/t
- First Resource upgrade in over 12 months and incorporates results of recent bulk sampling and screening evaluation of rock dumps tailings
- Manuka reasonably expects to convert most of the Inferred Resource to an Indicated Resource category as production continues, as well as add additional ounces to the Inferred Resource
- Manuka is yet to test Mt Boppy depth extensions which provides scope for continued Resource growth
Dennis Karp, Manuka’s Executive Chairman, commented:
“Mt Boppy has the makings of an exceptional gold asset. Having started life as a listed company with 44koz Au in Resources at Mt Boppy, we have produced >41koz Au (560kt @ 3g/t) and still have slightly more than that in current M Resources. To this we have just added another 280koz and we have yet to test our most prospective exploration targets.
With the anticipated cash flow from our gold production we are in a strong position to not only upgrade our Inferred ounces to higher categories but also continue to grow the overall resource.”
Mt Boppy Resource Statement
Mineral resources at Mt Boppy totalling 2,090,423 tonnes at a grade of 1.46 g/t Au for 98,367 oz Au have been delineated through a bulk sampling and screening evaluation of rock and tailings dumps on the property ML’s. These are incremental to the total Mt Boppy Opencut Resource previously reported on ASX 29 July 2022 of 281,850 tonnes at a grade of 4.95 g/t Au for 44,820 ounces, that remain unchanged. The revised total classified Mineral Resources are shown in Table 1.
The mineral resource estimate for Mt Boppy is contained within:
- in situ rock dumps and tailings depositories, with in situ gold grades derived from bulk sampling material derived from mechanically pitting and trenching to 2-3m depth and screening +200, -200+20, +8-20, and -8mm size fractions, with cone measurements to ascertain mass % distribution and total volume treated.
- an open cut pit shell that reaches a depth of 215m below surface at the southern end of the Mt Boppy deposit. Resources were reported July 2022 with respect to the current pit design. Material within the pit design is reported at a 1.6 g/t Au cut off and material below the pit design is reported to a 3.0 g/t Au cut off. The open cut is currently flooded and inaccessible for mining. Dewatering and a sidewall pushback is necessary to access and mine these resources.
- a grade shell modelled at a 1.6 g/t cut off over the Boppy South mineral zone. This prospect still requires final drilling and evaluation before assessing establishing a small opencast.
Table 1 - Mt Boppy Gold Resources at 21 August 2023
The previous resource statement July 2022¹ is shown in Table 2.
Table 2 - Mt Boppy Gold Resource at 19 May 2022
A summary of the split of the current resources (vis rock dumps, tailings[ii] and hard rock opencast) is shown in Table 3.
Table 3 - Mt Boppy Gold Resource by type at 21 August 2023
An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource and cannot be converted to an Ore Reserve. It is reasonably expected that most of the Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration.
Based on the study herein reported, delineated mineralization of the Mt Boppy deposits is classified as Measured, Indicated and Inferred resources according to the definitions of the JORC Code (2012) as presented in Tables 1 and 3. The mineral resource is depleted for the Boppy opencut to the November 30th 2021 projected pit pick-up, and treated (screened) material on the Boppy ROM dump as at 21 August 2023.
Rock Dump and Tailings Evaluation
The Company has started producing gold from screening rock dump and tailings material at the Mt Boppy ROM. Bulk sample evaluation has continued and has progressed evaluation of the Mt Boppy Main waste rock dump, the low grade rock dump and tailings at the TSF3 impoundment.
This estimate incorporates rock dump evaluation data compiled since the last mineral resources update 29 July 2022.
The evaluation methodology has enabled assessment of the economic viability of treating screened rock dump fines plus tailings (these have already been subject to milling and cyanidation).
The methodology to date has involved:
- preliminary hand screening on a 40m grid
- excavation using a 200mm skeleton bucket of 2-3m deep pits on a 40m grid
- sub 8mm trommel screening of the sub200mm pile, which evolved to sub12mm trommel screening
- Triple deck flat screening of sub 200mm piles producing sub10, +10-22, +22-200mm cones
- Cones of material were sampled for assay every two front end loader buckets processed
- Backup splits of each size sample were also taken, as well as pulps prior to bottle roll analysis
Table 4 (below) shows the quantum of material evaluated for the various material sources. Over 5,000 tonnes of dump material has been bulk sampled to date.
Table 4 - Mt Boppy Dump Evaluation Material Tested
Figure 1 shows a drone image of the Boppy ROM bulk sampling. The screening operation is centralised, with -8 and +8-20 stockpiles being generated. The work has shown a clear increase of grade in the -8mm fraction. A +8-20mm split is also generated as a low grade stockpile. Figure 2 shows the indicated grades for the various screened sizes for the Mt Boppy ROM.
Figure 1: Drone view of Trench evaluation of the Mt Boppy ROM rock dump and tailings
Figure 2: Mt Bppy ROM Au g/t vs Screen fraction
Gold analyses have been undertaken on the various size fractions at the Wonawinta Laboratory, with third party checks conducted at Gekko Laboratory (Ballarat) and ALS (Orange). Analyses include systematic bottle roll estimation of gold in solution amenable to cyanidation (AAS), analysis of tails for gold in acid soluble solids (Aqua Regia), combined to give an analysis of total gold in solution. Bottle Roll and Fire Assay checks were also conducted at Gekko.
Table 5 shows the various surface dumps and current resource estimation
Table 5: Mt Boppy surface rock dump and tailings sources and estimated resources
Notably the remaining extent of the Mt Boppy Main Waste dump provides an ongoing evaluation target ranging from 101-151 Koz Au at in situ grades estimated to be between 1.28 and 1.56 g/t gold.
*The preceding statements of Mineral Resources conforms to the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) 2012 Edition. Due to rounding to appropriate significant figures, minor discrepancies may occur. All tonnages reported are dry metric
COMPETENT PERSON’S STATEMENT
The information in this report that relates to Mt Boppy Dump Mineral Resources is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr Philip Bentley, who is a Certified Professional by The South African Council for Natural Sciences (SACNASP # 400208/05 ) and is the Chief Geologist employed by Manuka Resources Ltd. Mr Bentley has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Mr Bentley consents to the inclusion in the statement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
About Manuka
Manuka Resources Limited (ASX: MKR) is an Australian mining and exploration company with key assets located in the Cobar Basin, central west New South Wales. In addition to its recent acquisition of Trans-Tasman Resources Limited owner of the Taranaki VTM Project, it is the 100% owner of two fully permitted mining projects, one gold and one silver, both within the Cobar Basin, which include the following:
- Gold - Mt Boppy Gold mine, 48-person mine camp and neighbouring tenements, hosting an existing open pit mineral resource[iii] and combined ROM, waste and tailings material all of which lend themselves to upgrading through screening. The Company has commenced a screening and gold recovery project, processing the product at its Wonawinta plant. It has confidence the gold from these sources can be extracted profitably and over a period of ~3 years. Manuka also awaits the outcome of its forthcoming exploration program to determine as to whether the future for mining any Mt Boppy extensions will be as an underground or open cast mine.
- Silver - Wonawinta silver project, with mine, 84 person mine camp, processing plant and neighbouring tenements. Previously renowned as the largest primary producer of silver in Australia, the mine hosts a significant JORC resource[iv]. The Wonawinta processing plant has a nameplate capacity of >850,000 tonnes per year (which the Company now sees expanded to >1.0Mt/yr. The Company has recently completed a plant and metallurgical recovery optimisation.
There exists a number of highly prospective base metals exploration targets on Manuka’s ~1,150km2 tenement package within the Cobar Basin.
The Taranaki VTM Iron Sand Project recently released its maiden vanadium resource[v] which ranks it as one of the largest drilled vanadium projects globally. The Project has a granted mining licence and is in the lowest quartile of the iron ore production cost curve. The Company awaits the reissuance of its Environmental Approval before completing its Bankable Feasibility Study.
This announcement has been approved for release by the chairman of Manuka Resources Limited.
For further information contact:
Dennis Karp
Executive Chairman
Manuka Resources Limited
0412 268 114
Media Contact
Ben Henri
M+C Partners
0473 246 040
Manuka Resources Limited –
Level 4 Grafton Bond Building,
201 Kent St Sydney NSW Australia 2000
Tel 02- 7253 2020
Important Information
This report includes forward-looking statements and comments about future events, including the Company’s expectations about the performance of its businesses. Forward-looking words such as “expect”, “should”, “could”, “may”, “predict”, “plan”, “will”, “believe”, “forecast”, “estimate”, “target” or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company and which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements are provided as a general guide only, and should not be relied on as an indication or guarantee of future performance. Given these uncertainties, recipients are cautioned to not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law, the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this report to reflect any change in expectations in relation to any forward-looking statements or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. No Limited Party or any other person makes any representation, or gives any assurance or guarantee that the occurrence of the events expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements in the report will occur.
You can find the entire press release here: https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02701864-2A1468789?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4
[i] Dry tails emplacements from historic underground operations
[ii] Dry tails emplacements from historic underground operations
[iii] ASX release 29 July 2022
[iv] ASX release 1 April 2021
[v] ASX release 1 March 2023
