Metallica Minerals Limited announced that a maiden resource estimate has been completed for the scandium mineralization at the Lucknow Scandium Laterite deposit within the NORNICO nickel cobalt scandium project in North Queensland.
The combined Indicated and Inferred resource for the entire Lucknow Sc laterite deposits stands at 6.10 million tonnes @ 169 grams per tonne Sc, at 70 grams per tonne cut off grade, including a high grade zone of 4 million tonnes @ 205 grams per tonne Sc, using 120 grams per tonne Sc COG.
Metallica Minerals commissioned Golder Associates of Brisbane to undertake a block model estimate for the Lucknow scandium resource using data provided by Metallica from its recently completed drilling programs. The maiden resource was completed by using data from 298 RC drill holes comprising 7,036 meters of drilling. The resource has been drilled out on either a 20 meters by 20 meters grid or a nominal 40 meters by 40 meters grid which is sufficient to classify the resource as indicated, where the drilling has been completed on an 80 meters by a 40 meters grid the resource has been classed as Inferred. It is likely that once Metallica has additional bulk density data the majority of the Indicated Resource will be classed as Measured.
The scandium ore at Lucknow is covered by a Joint Venture agreement between Straits Resources Limited (20%) and Metallica Minerals Limited (80%), under the terms of the JV all scandium ore is to be mined or stockpiled separately and kept for later processing by the JV.
Laterite resources are classified as either Ni Co ore or Sc ore under formulae defined by the terms of the JV agreement. As a result of the JV agreement the total Lucknow resource is separated into two exclusive parts; a nickel cobalt resource and a scandium resource. The Lucknow Scandium resource has been estimated using 70 grams per tonne Sc cut off grade.
This Mineral Resources detailed above are appropriate for a selective open pit mining scenario, but does not account for mining dilution or losses and conforms to JORC guidelines for the reporting of mineral resources, the resources have been classed as either Indicated or Inferred based on geological continuity, sample intervals and drill hole spacing, parts of the resource could be classed as Measured once additional bulk density data has been obtained. The Indicated resource is sufficient for initial pit design and scheduling.
The resource estimate was undertaken by Golder Associates of Brisbane using block modeling Ordinary Kriging techniques. The estimate was completed using unfolding techniques to make a wire framed model to represent the paleo laterite surfaces between drill holes, and was further refined by incorporating data from sectional interpretations of the considered logged geology and scandium, nickel, cobalt, iron, magnesium and manganese assays. A nominal 60 grams per tonne Sc mineralized envelope was used to constrain the mineralization and grade estimates. The wire frame was then filled with 10 meters by 10 meters by 1 meter blocks, with the grades of the various elements estimated by ordinary Kriging using a three pass search strategy and a maximum of 3 composites selected from any one drill hole. Mineralisation was extrapolated a maximum of 20 meters from drill hole intercepts, depending on supporting information. Details of how the Lucknow Resource was estimated are listed at the back of this report.
