Equatorial Resources Limited advised that it has signed a drilling contract with Wallis Drilling Pty Ltd for a minimum of 28,000m of reverse circulation and diamond core drilling at the Company's 100% owned Mayoko-Moussondji Iron Project in the Republic of Congo.
The contract with Wallis Drilling will run in parallel to the existing drilling program already underway with Partners Drilling International and is intended to rapidly advance the company's exploration activities.
Wallis Drilling is an internationally experienced drilling contractor with 19 years of experience in Africa, Asia, North and South America and 44 years of experience in Australia. Over the last three years Wallis Drilling have completed a total of 3,589,000 meters of reverse circulation drilling and 180,000 meters of diamond core drilling. Privately owned with a head office in Perth, Western Australia, Wallis Drilling offer a wide range of mine-based and remote exploration services to an international client base.
Wallis Drilling have extensive relevant experience and qualified personnel having previously successfully completed major drilling contracts exploring for iron ore in Africa for Sundance Resources Limited and Aquila Resources Limited. Wallis Drilling has the technical and financial capacity to deliver the highest level of service and significantly expand and accelerate Equatorial's exploration activity at Mayoko- Moussondji.
Mr John Welborn MD and CEO said that "We are delighted to announce we have secured Wallis Drilling to provide drilling services to Equatorial. The Wallis Drilling contract will significantly boost the equipment and expertise we have available at Mayoko-Moussondji and accelerate the identification of "hematite cap" mineralization with the potential to host direct shipping ore. The drilling campaign will continue to expand as we aggressively explore and define the 46km of strike that makes up our massive exploration target."
The Wallis Drilling program will commence with two rigs, a KL900 truck mounted multi-purpose RC & diamond core drill rig and a Wallis/Alton diamond drill rig mounted to a steel tracked carrier. Both rigs are currently being mobilised from Walvis Bay, Namibia and are scheduled to arrive in ROC in early June 2011. The contract specifies a minimum of 28,000 meters of drilling in phase 1, with approximately 8,000 meters of diamond core drilling and 20,000 meters of RC drilling. Equatorial has the option to continue with a phase 2 drilling program with Wallis Drilling for a further 40,000 meters, with approximately 10,000 meters of diamond core drilling and 30,000 meters of RC drilling.
Drilling at Mayoko-Moussondji is initially being focused on the Makengui Prospect which is 12km long, up to 2km wide and lies 500m from an existing, operational bulk haulage railway line (refer image below). Makengui is one of five main prospects at Mayoko-Moussondji which total more than 46km of strike identified from the airborne geophysics program conducted in late 2010.
