ALTURA MINING LTD - ASX: AJM

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Description

Balline Project, Western Australia

The Balline mineral sands project is located in the mid-west district of Western Australia between the coastal town sites of Kalbarri and Port Gregory. Extensive exploration undertaken by Australian Garnet had identified three zones (Balline North, Balline South and Menari) of significant heavy mineral content at Balline. These zones are present by near-surface Garnet, Ilmenite and leucoxene-bearing strandlines within Cainozoic coastal sand dunes. In excess of 14,000m of air core drilling has been undertaken and in December 2008 independent consultants CSA Australia Pty Ltd and Craigstone Pty Ltd established an initial resource of 30.3 mt @ 7.11% HM classified under the JORC code (ASX Announcement 16 December 2008). A review of this Mineral Resource was undertaken by AMC Consulting Pty Ltd prior to an Ore Reserve estimate released in August 2009 (ASX Announcement 21 August 2009). The total resource at Balline is reported as 226.9 mt @ 3.7% HM (8.4 mt HM) with a probable Ore Reserve of 65.5 mt @ 5.7% HM (3.7 mt HM). The main products being targeted from the resource are Garnet, Pseudo-Rutile, Ilmenite, Rutile and Zircon. Mining lease M70/1280 was granted to Australian Garnet on 19 August 2009. The mining lease extends over the HM deposit at Menari covering an area of 262 hectares. Since this period, Australian Garnet had completed all necessary studies from an environmental perspective to progress the project to the final approvals stage with the Department of Environment and Conservation and the Department of Mines and Petroleum. These studies include noise modelling, Aboriginal heritage, a level one fauna and flora assessment as well as a subterranean fauna review for the project impact area. An extensive hydro geological programme has also been completed with the sinking of three test production bores and seven monitoring bores in the area. Detailed analysis including pump testing has been carried out in late 2009, culminating in the lodging of a 5C license application (extraction license), in January 2010.

Bald Hill Project, Western Australia

The Bald Hill area has been mined for alluvial tantalite from the early 1970’s to 1980’s. Gwalia Consolidated undertook extensive exploration of the area from early 1983 to 1998 and identified resources of 770,000 tonnes at 517 ppm Ta2O5 in a series of flat lying pegmatite sills. In 2000 Haddington Resources Ltd completed an agreement with Sons of Gwalia Ltd to develop the Bald Hill Tantalum Project. The mine operated until December 2005 treating around 400,000 tonnes per annum and producing 200,000 lbs per annum. Haddington has continued extensive exploration in the Bald Hill area for tantalum-bearing pegmatites utilising a combination of RAB, RC, vacuum and auger drilling and rock-chip sampling. This work has identified numerous anomalies based on pathfinder elements for rare-metal pegmatites. Previous exploration on E15/813 has identified reserves for future mining at the ‘Creekside’ and ‘Fenceline’ prospects. A resource of 204,000 tonnes @ 435ppm Ta has been defined however the depressed tantalum market and increased operating costs have lessened the current viability of this resource.

Pilbara Project, Western Australia

The Pilbara Project consists of seven target areas with historical tantalite and tin production. Ten Exploration Licences totaling over 610 sq km comprise the project with two granted tenements E45/2287 and E45/2312. Haddington's immediate strategy in the Pilbara is to assess Pilgangoora E45/2287 and E45/2312 Woodstock for all mineral commodities as well as hard rock pegmatite resources. A swarm of pegmatite veins run parallel to the granite contact with the greenstones of the Warrona Group. This tenement covers the western alluvial covered portion of the field with significant quantities of alluvial/eluvial tantalite and tin previously mined from these narrow pegmatites. The work program for the Pilbara district will involve generative programs for gold and basemetals within E45/2287 and greenstone terranes within E45/2312.

Smithfield Project, Western Australia

E70/2254 Smithfield , situated 20 km SW of Greenbushes in Western Australia,lies in the South West province of the Yilgarn Block, within the Balingup Metamorphic Belt. The Smithfield pegmatites fall along the major Donnybrook- Bridgetown shear zone which also controls the mineralization at Greenbushes. Numerous tin, tantalum and niobium anomalies have been noted and well as historical production from Donovans Find, Willow Springs and Native Dog Gully. Exploration by Greenbushes Ltd revealed a broad mineralized zone extending 5km from Willow Springs with small pegmatites up to 35m in width and significant Ta and Nb stream anomalies. The tenement is presently under option to Hampton Hill(Managers)/Teck Cominco/BHP Billiton, joint venture, who are exploring for gold and base metals within the Balingup Gneiss Complex. Activities completed include helicopter EM survey, fixed loop EM, surface geochemical surveys and diamond drilling. The Operators are earning a 75% interest in the Smithfield Prospect by spending $500,000 on exploration. Two drill holes have been completed to test two conductors identified by a helicopter-borne geophysical survey within the licence. One hole intersected 7m of semi-massive to stringer pyrrhotite-pyrite mineralization from 101m with weakly anomalous values of copper, zinc and gold. The other hole intersected disseminated pyrrhotite and pyrite mineralization over an interval of 30m, commencing at 235m, returning anomalous zinc values. Recent laterite soil sampling has defined moderate laterite. Hampton Hill, as Managers, are continuing the program to test these and previous anomalies.

Finniss Range, Northern Territory

The Finniss Range Project is located approximately 50 km south of Darwin; roughly 20 km southwest of Berry Springs/Tumbling Waters. Rare element pegmatites that crop out in the area form the Litchfield pegmatite belt. The Litchfield belt is divided into the more prominent Bynoe Pegmatite Field, and the less significant Wingate Mountains pegmatite district. The Bynoe pegmatite field is 70km in length and 15km in width. All pegmatites are believed to have been derived from the Two Sisters Granite (Ahmad 1995), which is considered to dip to the east under the Burrell Creek Formation, below the exposed pegmatites. The pegmatites typically occur in clusters, and six pegmatite groups are recognised within the Bynoe field; The Kings Table, Observation Hill, Walkers Creek, Labelle, Leviathan, River Annie Group. First pass exploration for rare element pegmatites conducted on the project area included an extensive soil sampling, rock chip sampling, mapping and RAB drilling program.

Shoobridge Project, Northern Territory

The Shoobridge Project is located approximately 160km south southeast of Darwin; approximately 19km west northwest of Hayes Creek. Eight granted tenements covering approximately 345 sq km have potential for uranium, tantalum, gold, iron and base metal mineralization. At Liberator, high grade uranium mineralisation was intersected in 07LIBRC006, intersecting 3m@ 6.05% U3O8 from 40m. Petrographic investigation revealed that the drill intercept contains major developments of uraninite, often as semi massive associations. Drillhole 07LIBRC001, located approximately 300m to the north, intersected two meters of mineralisation (bright green tobernite), returning 6m@ 1.34% U3O8 from 19m including 1m @ 4.99% U3O8 from 21m. Close-spaced gravity, nanoTEM and IP surveys are currently underway to interpret mineralised structures and develop exploration models for proposed drilling. Geochemical sampling has also defined anomalous copper mineralisation at the Two Nick prospect, as well as Pb mineralisation at the Whatleys and Plateau Point prospects. Inital drill testing of these anomalies is proposed for the 2008 season.

Tanami Project, Northern Territory

The Tanami province is a leading gold producing region with a number of well-known producing and closed open pit and underground mines ie. Callie, Granites, Tanami, Groundrush. The Coyote and Laraginni projects are operating on the Western Australian side of the province. The prospectivity of the region to host economic uranium mineralisation is also highlighted by The Northern Uranium/Cameco holding in the north, targeting unconformity uranium in the Lower Proterozoic Gardiner sandstone. The Tanami Complex is host to several major granite complexes which may form the heat source and fluid pathways for localising paleochannel/unconformity style uranium mineralisation in the overlying Proterozoic sandstones and later Permian/Recent sediments. This area also covers unconformably overlying Late Proterozoic and Permian sediments adjacent and probably located over Tanami Complex granites. The potential for uranium enrichment in the finer reduced units and noted Permian coal horizons is a significant exploration target. Uranium channel radiometrics indicate high response in the Permian cover sequence. Three applications EL26626, 26627 and 26628 (564 blocks, approximately 1800km2) are located along the western extension of the Granite-Callie mineralised corridor as well as the southern extension of the Tanami gold corridor. These applications are located on Aboriginal freehold and will progress to grant through the Aboriginal Land Rights Act legislation. Initial proposals include comprehensive data compilation, regional geophysical surveys and reconnaissance geochemical sampling.

The Tabalong Coal Project, Indonesia

The Tabalong Coal Project, located in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, was added to Haddington’s portfolio in September 2007 through the acquisition of Minvest International Corporation. The project comprises of two Kuasa Perambangan (KP’s) located in the coal bearing area of the Tanjung Formation in the province of South Kalimantan. The KP’s (Mining Permits) are held by PT Suryaraya Permata Khatulisitwa (PT SPK) and PT Suryaraya Cahaya Cemerland (PT SCC) and cover 1,993 and 4,315 hectares respectively. The two adjacent KP’s cover an area of 63km2 and are located in the Tabalong district. This region of Kalimantan has been the focus on intense exploration for coal, resulting in numerous occurrences of high grade coking coal products as well as high energy thermal coals, both of which can attract premium market prices.

Information gathered at Tabalong indicates a high calorific, low ash and medium to high sulphur coal type. Initial geological interpretation indicates that 2 separate coal sequences extend along the entire strike length of the KP areas. Each of these sequences contains several separate groups of seams.

Recent seam thickness results could have a marked effect on the size of the Tabalong resource. In the coming months exploration will be focused on completing exploration drilling to the northern boundary of the project, proving the extent of the thicker coal intervals and continuing coring the thicker coal intersections to obtain samples for analysis. Evaluation of infrastructure requirements, including road routes, is being carried out to identify the extent of road upgrades and creek crossings required for transport of coal to the Barito River. We expect that by the end of June , sufficient geological data and road information will allow a decision to progress the project to prefeasibility. This depends on completing the current drilling objectives, receiving initial analytical results, updating the geological model, calculating resources and initial haul road planning.

Mine For

iron ore, garnet, uranium, coal, lithium, tantalum, base metals, gold

Location of operation(s)

Indonesia, Western Australia, Northern Territory

Address

Unit 1, 454 Roberts Rd
SUBIACO, WA, Australia

Phone

(61 8) 9488 5100

Email

Website

http://www.alturamining.com/

Last Updated

11/05/2010