HAMPTON HILL MINING NL - ASX: HHM

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Description

Hampton Hill Mining NL listed on the ASX in 1994. The Company holds extensive tenements throughout Western Australia prospective for iron ore, nickel sulphide, copper, lead, zinc, gold and uranium. The company is focussed on the discovery of economic mineral deposits returning value to shareholders.

Apollo Hill Gold Project

On 23 June 2010 Hampton Hill announced the granting of option over Apollo Hill Gold Project. Hampton Hill Mining NL has entered into an agreement with Peel Exploration Limited (ASX: PEX) (“Peel”) whereby Peel has an option to acquire the entire issued capital of Hampton’s wholly owned subsidiary company, Apollo Mining Pty Ltd, the 100%-owner of the Apollo Hill gold project, by executing a Sale Agreement. The Apollo Hill gold project, located about 50 kilometres southeast of Leonora in the North Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, comprises 16 mining tenements covering about 140 square kilometres and is focused on the advanced Apollo Hill gold deposit, an extensively mineralised gold system.

Capricorn Nickel Sulphide Project

The Capricorn project is situated 50 kilometres southeast of the township of Newman in the East Pilbara region of Western Australia. It covers a gabbroic complex prospective for nickel sulphide mineralisation situated along the northern margin of the Sylvania Dome. Hampton has a 75% interest in the project with an unlisted private company holding the remaining 25% interest. Nickel and platinoid anomalism was discovered by Hampton in gossan, rock chip and soil sampling within the gabbroic complex at the Millipede prospect. Two early RC holes returned a best result of 6 metres averaging 0.38% nickel, 0.2% copper and 0.8 parts per million platinum from 15 metres below surface. Hampton then commissioned an EM survey which highlighted two targets 1.8 kilometres apart that were coincident with the soil and/or shallow RC drill hole geochemical anomalies. Subsequent drilling resulted in best intersections of 2 metres of 1.36% nickel with 0.62% copper and 5 metres of 0.31% nickel with 0.21% copper hosted in semi-massive sulphides. Encouragingly, these intersections were associated with the upper of two steeply dipping ultramafic units about 80 metres apart within the layered gabbroic complex. An RC program is planned for September 2008, subject to approvals and rig availability. The Centipede Zinc Prospect will also be the target of RC drilling later in 2008. Best results to date are 8 metres of 1.95% zinc including 2 metres at 6% zinc. During the year Hampton reappraised the past exploration data and outlined new concepts for further significant exploration for nickel sulphides.

Ryansville Iron Ore Project

The Ryansville project is now wholly owned by Hampton following the withdrawal of Aurora Minerals Ltd from joint venture arrangements. The tenement is considered to have potential for iron ore lenses buried beneath surficial sediments over a possible strike of over 2 kilometres. Reverse circulation percussion drilling to test for buried iron ore lenses beneath these sediments is planned to commence as soon as all regulatory approvals have been obtained.

Weebacarry Gold Project

The Weebacarry gold project covers the central part of a regional north east trending shear zone between the abandoned Big Bell gold mine (3.9 million oz gold production) in the south and the Meekatharra gold mines (2.4 million oz gold production) to the north. Twelve kilometres of this shear zone which is known locally as the Jungar Bore Shear Zone ("JBSZ") are covered by the project. Until the end of 2007 the Weebacarry Project was a Joint Venture with Aurora Minerals. Aurora completed geological mapping, rock chip sampling and a scout aircore/ RAB drilling program before withdrawing. Hampton has reviewed the previous work and has planned further drilling to follow up extensions of known mineralisation and test conceptual gold targets generated from aeromagnetic interpretation. All approvals have been obtained for this program and drilling will commence as soon as a suitable drill rig is available.

Weld Range Iron Ore Project

Hampton has a joint venture with Midwest Corporation Ltd involving tenements located along the northern margins of the Weld Range, about 65 kilometres northwest of the township of Cue in the Murchison region of Western Australia. The Weld Range tenements are part of the rapidly evolving endeavours by a number of companies to unlock the iron ore potential in the mid-west region of Western Australia. Midwest Corporation Ltd (Midwest), as manager of the joint venture, has the right to earn a 60% interest by completing prior to February 2011 a pre feasibility study relating to the project which is to include the evaluation of the iron ore resources of the Hampton tenements. While Midwest has begun prefeasibility study programs over the Hampton tenements, work is much less advanced than on the more substantial adjacent Midwest tenements on which Midwest has announced total Mineral Resources of 133.4 million tonnes at an average grade of 58.5% iron, using a cut off grade of 50% iron.

These adjacent tenements are the subject of a joint venture between Midwest and the Chinese company, Sino Steel Corporation Ltd. The two separate programs are referred to as the Weld Range Direct Shipping Ore Project as it is anticipated that they will developed in unison. It is envisaged that a minimum of 225 million tonnes of Mineral Resources will be required to justify project development as a rail operation.

Midwest has stated that aboriginal heritage surveys have been completed for W6 and W20 deposits and environmental clearances for drilling are expected soon. Initial drilling is scheduled to commence in the next quarter. Midwest plan to drill over 7,000 metres on the Hampton tenements out of a total project 2008 drilling program of 40,000 metres. In order to increase the rate of drill out of iron ore on the project, Midwest has increased the number of drill rigs on site to eleven.

Although prefeasibility work is not well advanced on the Hampton tenements and no measured iron ore Mineral Resources have been established to date, earlier drilling has indicated potential for modest resources in the smaller western lenses where several broad intersections of plus 60% hematite/goethite ore were encountered. The more promising eastern lenses (W6, W20 and W29) have yet to be tested. Mapping and rock chip sampling has indicated that there is potential for significant mineralization in these eastern lenses.

Wheatley Base Metal Project

The Wheatley project is located in the south west of Western Australia near Manjimup. During 2007 Hampton negotiated the takeover of the management of the Wheatley project near Manjimup from its longstanding joint venture partner Teck Cominco Ltd of Canada (Teck). The terms of the joint venture now provide for Hampton to gain total ownership of the project by being the sole contributor of $1,500,000 of project expenditure prior to 30th June 2011 subject to Teck's right, at any time, to revert ownership to a 50:50 basis by electing to replace Hampton as sole contributor and contributing three times Hampton's contributions to that date. Should Teck elect to earn back in to the project, then it will be required to provide Hampton with a 30% free carry to the end of feasibility studies. In line with these arrangements Hampton has already expended over $300,000.

Most of the exploration undertaken by the joint venture has been focused on the Kingsley prospect which is associated with a three kilometre long magnetic anomaly and one of the more prominent project electromagnetic anomalies. The best result from drilling to date was a semi-massive sulphide intersection of 4.1 metres averaging 2.2% zinc with minor copper and lead. This confirmed Kingsley as an exciting target and provided encouragement for the testing of the other electromagnetic targets within the project area.

Yillaree Nickel Project

The project is located in the North Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia in a world class nickel sulphide province with the Perseverance mine to the north, the Waterloo mine to the east and the Sinclair deposit to the south. Breakaway Resources Limited has recently announced an inferred resource of 8,300 tonnes of nickel metal at nearby Horn discovery. Breakaway Resources Limited has completed earning an 81.27% interest in this project and Hampton's 18.73% interest has now ceased to be free carried. In light of the recent encouraging results highlighting the potential for nickel sulphide mineralisation Hampton has decided to contribute to future exploration expenditure.

Mine For

iron ore, nickel, copper, lead, zinc, gold, uranium

Location of operation(s)

Western Australia

Address

2nd Floor , 9 Havelock Street
WEST PERTH, WA, AUSTRALIA

Phone

(61 8) 9481 8444

Email

Website

http://www.hamptonhill.com.au/

Last Updated

5/4/2011