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[June 2008]
High Grade Mineral Sands Results at Cape York
Mineral sands producer Matilda Minerals Ltd has announced positive results from its second reconnaissance programme at the Urquhart Point prospect on Cape York in northern Queensland, Australia. The follow-up drilling programme, completed in March, has extended the known mineralisation and shown the previously drilled strands extend over three kilometres to the south.
Matilda’s Managing Director, Bruce Maluish, said the results demonstrated the continuity of the previously drilled strands and enabled Matilda to produce an Indicated Resource estimate of 2.8 million tonnes @ 7.0% HM at the surface to a maximum depth of 3 metres and with exceptionally low slimes content.
“Testing shows the valuable heavy mineral (VHM) suite is dominated by zircon and rutile,” he said. “Present market indications are that zircon prices are due for a positive re-rating due to increasing demand in China and recent reductions in production.
“The results also give us great confidence of further significant zircon and rutile mineralisation on our other tenements, which cover 300 kilometres of the Cape York western coastline. From grab samples taken over this 300 kilometres of coastline, we know that the heavy mineral suite is very rich in zircon and rutile and we know that the geological setting is right so we are very confident that this large area contains substantial mineral sands mineralisation. We are now at the start of the dry season so we plan to commence a comprehensive exploration program on our tenements soon.
“The Urquhart Point mineralisation gives us great confidence that our exploration programs will be rewarded with important discoveries.”
The exploration success at Urquhart Point is another significant step forward in the development of the Cape York project for Matilda, which is also producing high grade zircon from projects on the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory.
Matilda is conducting the exploration programme as part of its farm-in agreement with Oresome Australia (Matilda earning 70%) on the highly prospective Urquhart Point mineral sand deposit, part of Matilda’s Cape York Project in northern Queensland. The deposit is located on EPM 15268, 2 kilometres across Albatross Bay from the township of Weipa on the west coast of Cape York.
A comprehensive cultural heritage clearance survey was completed after the grant of the tenement late last year, which was followed by the first exploration programme at Urquhart Point. In December 2007, a hand auger programme was conducted to test the surface mineralisation. The programme consisted of 87 shell auger holes and 75 spiral auger holes to test the previously reported prospect and to test for possible extensions to the east and the south-west.
Four north-south sections of shell auger tested the previously drilled ‘northern zone’ and confirmed the reported grades of heavy mineral (HM), the high content of zircon and rutile, and also the exceptionally low slimes content. The sections were extended south of the historic mineralisation and encountered significant mineralisation.
The VHM suite is dominated by zircon and rutile. Based on all the available analyses of six composite samples from the drilling, the likely HM suite will contain an average of greater than 30% combined zircon and rutile, with most of the remainder being ilmenite and iron oxides. Significantly the non magnetic fraction for all six samples is almost entirely zircon and rutile with a very small percentage of trash minerals.
www.matildaminerals.com
ENDS