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[Oct 2006]
Tripitaka Mineral Resource Estimate
Iluka Resources Ltd (Perth, WA, Australia), as manager of the Colona Joint Venture with Adelaide Resources Ltd, has announced an Inferred Mineral Resource estimate for the Tripitaka mineral sands deposit in the Eucla Basin, South Australia.
Tripitaka was discovered by Iluka in November 2005. The deposit straddles the boundary of the Exploration Licences EL3233 (100% Iluka) and EL3316 (Colona Joint Venture: 51% Iluka, 49% Adelaide Resources) approximately 100km north-west of Ceduna in South Australia. Tripitaka lies within the Euria Pastoral Lease about 1.5km outside the Yellabinna Regional Reserve. The total Inferred Resource for Tripitaka across the two tenements is 1 million tonnes of Heavy Mineral (HM). The HM grade for Tripitaka is 2.4%, with an average zircon assemblage of 65%.
Approximately, 400,000 tonnes of HM is located on Iluka’s 100% tenement with an average HM grade of 2.7% and a zircon assemblage of 67%. The remaining 600,000 tonnes is on the Colona Joint Venture tenement with an average HM grade of 2.3% and a zircon assemblage of 63%. In total, the Tripitaka zircon content equates to approximately 650,000 tonnes.
Peter Benjamin, Iluka’s Executive General Manager, Exploration stated: "Tripitaka represents another impressive zircon-rich deposit in the highly prospective Eucla Basin acreage controlled by Iluka as well as Adelaide Resources. In combination with the Jacinth and Ambrosia discoveries, Iluka now has a defined resource base in the Eucla Basin of 10 million tonnes of HM with an interest in zircon resources of approximately 4.9 million tonnes".
Iluka is currently involved in pre-feasibility planning for the potential development of the Jacinth and Ambrosia deposits, which are located approximately 90km to the north-west of the Tripitaka deposit. The company is also undertaking an extensive regional exploration programme with the intent of delineating further potential heavy mineral sands deposits, which may underpin a potential 'corridor' of long-life mining operations in the Eucla Basin. The delineation of the Tripitaka resource advances one aspect of Iluka’s exploration activities to better understand the resource potential of the Eucla Basin. The Tripitaka resource, in conjunction with the results of ongoing exploratory drilling by Iluka, has the potential to form part of a broader regional development plan for the Eucla Basin.
www.iluka.com
ENDS