Flangovy 2015 Infill Drilling Complete

 

27 October 2015

 

AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION

(AIM: AMC)

 

Flangovy 2015 Infill Drilling Complete

Pervasive 1.0% Nickel Intersected

 

Amur Minerals Corporation ("Amur" or the "Company"), the nickel-copper sulphide mineral exploration and resource development company focused on the far east of Russia, is pleased to inform shareholders that it has successfully completed the Flangovy infill drilling phase of its 2015 drill programme. The infill programme targeted the 29 million tonne Flangovy Inferred resource area, and has successfully confirmed the continuity of the mineralisation throughout the 800 metre long target.  A total of 26 holes indicate the Flangovy Inferred mineralisation has an average length weighted nickel grade of 0.79% with copper being 0.21%.  The average ore hole contains a total of 26.9 metres of mineral with the discrete intersections being 14.2 metres.  The continuity of high grade mineralisation suitable for underground mining methods, had been confirmed and 78% of the defined nickel is contained within discrete lenses (in excess of 0.7% nickel) averaging 9.3 metres (18.9 metres per ore hole) in thickness. The grade is in excess of 1.0% nickel. 

 

These high grade structures are typical of those associated with a Tier 1 producer.  It is anticipated that the final analytical results generated by Alex Stewart Laboratories ("ASL") will be available in December 2015, at which time the resource estimate will be updated for the Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy deposit. The update will specifically include both open cast and underground production scenarios.

 

Having completed the Flangovy infill drill programme and with weather conditions permitting continuance of drilling, the Company began drilling infill holes at Maly Kurumkon in mid-October.   These holes are planned for completion in 2016.

 

Highlights:

 

·     Infill drilling of the 800 metre long 29 million tonne Inferred Flangovy resource was designed to verify existing drill results used to define the resource.  Based on the 12 existing holes (2,474.1 meres), the targeted infill drill results were anticipated to contain a length weighted average nickel grade of 0.76% nickel and 0.22% copper.  The average individual mineralised thickness was anticipated to be 27.9 metres per hole. 

 

·     The fourteen 2015 infill drill holes (3,915.1 metres) intersecting ore contained a length weighted average nickel grade of 0.81% and 0.21% for copper.  The average thickness was 26.0 metres per hole.  The infill drill spacing has doubled the drill density thereby confirming the continuity of the mineralisation with regard to contained metal and mineralised thicknesses.  Doubling of the drill density will allow for upgrading a substantial portion of the future resource estimates at Flangovy to that of an Indicated resource.

 

·     Globally, the 26 hole Flangovy drill dataset contains a length weighted nickel grade of 0.79% with copper being 0.21%.  The average thickness of each discrete intersection is 14.2 metres with the average combined total mineralised length per hole being 26.9 metres.

 

·     Continuous high grade lenses (exceeding 0.7% nickel) are present along the length of the Flangovy area.  Approximately 78% of the drill defined metal is projected to be contained within the high grade structures averaging 1.03% nickel and 0.27% copper.  The average discrete mineralised thickness of the high grade intercepts is 9.3 metres.  This confirms that an underground production scenario is necessary for the purposes of resource estimation, planning and scheduling.  These resources could result in a substantial portion of Flangovy consisting of reserves similar to that of Tier 1 nickel mining companies.

 

·     The average grade of the current Flangovy Inferred resource is projected to be 0.55% nickel which is substantially lower than that indicated by the newly updated global drill results.  Drill results are approximately 50% higher in grade than that of the current resource model.

 

·     As reported in an earlier RNS, dated 3 September 2015, a 400 metre long extension identified through step out drilling eastward along Flangovy will be included in the resource update.  This area will likely be classified as Inferred resource and is approximately 50% the length of the current Flangovy Inferred resource area that was infill drilled in this season.

 

·     An updated resource estimate is planned.  Within the new estimates, specific production domains will be examined which consist of both open cast and underground scenarios.  The update will be initiated upon receipt of the final independent analytical results determined by ASL.  Final results are expected in December 2015.

 

·     Subsequent to the update of the resource model planned for Q1 2016, a detailed production schedule for the Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy area will be compiled.  The resultant model will be scheduled to optimise production targeting earlier production of the higher underground grades than previously anticipated by the existing resource model.

 

·     Having completed the Flangovy infill programme and suitable weather conditions continuing, the Company began drilling infill holes (mid-October) at the immediately adjacent Maly Kurumkon area.  Drilling will continue while weather remains favourable.  A total of 6,000 metres remains the objective for the drill season.

 

·     The Company is reviewing the potential update models using specific and unique mining domains allowing for open cast versus underground production scenarios at the deposits of Kubuk and Ikenskoe / Sobolevsky.

 

The primary objective of the 2015 drill programme was to complete an infill drill programme doubling the drill density confirming the continuity and contained grade within the 800 metre long area of Flangovy.  This area contains the currently reported JORC standard Inferred resource estimate compiled by SRK Consulting UK Ltd ("SRK").  A total of 29 million tonnes of mineralisation defined to be present with average grades are 0.55% nickel and 0.16% copper.  The estimate was based on a total of 12 diamond core drill holes that intersected the ore host zone with drilling having been conducted on five sections spaced from 200 metres to 250 metres apart.

 

In early 2015, the Company budgeted approximately 5,000 metres as infill holes including a contingency of 20%.  A total of 3,915.1 metres were drilled within 14 holes that intersected the ore host zone between existing drill sections.  The existing 12 holes had intersected individual mineralised thicknesses averaging 11.2 meters, having a nickel grade of approximately 0.75% and a copper grade of 0.20%.  The 2015 infill drill programme, intercepted an average individual lense thickness of 14.6 metres having an average grade of nickel at 0.81% and 0.21% for copper, respectively. Hence, the Company considers the infill programme has been successful and that the continuity of the ore host structures and contained grade has been confirmed along the length of the 800 metre area. 

 

The current drill section spacing at Flangovy is now similar to that of resource areas which SRK has previously defined as Indicated resource.  With the continuity established, an updated resource estimate within the Flangovy area should allow for conversion of a substantial portion of a planned update to the resource to be Indicated by resource classification.  The resource update will now be specifically domain modeled reflecting the lower versus higher grade zones (open cast versus underground).  The definition of the high grade lenses averaging in excess of 1.0% nickel will be specifically modeled to allow for reserve definition and consideration of the underground design and potential production grades.   

 

Persistent high grade intervals in excess of 0.7% nickel have also been confirmed.  The high grade lenses individually average 9.3 metres in thickness and contain an average length weighted grade of 1.03% nickel and 0.27% copper.  As previously identified in a 30 March 2015 RNS, this mineralisation represents the potential source of ore production using large scale underground mining methods.  These high grade Tier 1 type production grades had not been specifically modeled in the past due to the then limited drilling (12 holes).  The more than doubling of the drill density requires a comprehensive resource model update to reflect the new drill information and a reclassification of a substantial portion of the current resource which is wholly assigned to the Inferrred resource class.

 

Robin Young, CEO of Amur Minerals, commented:

 

"We are extremely pleased with the success of the 2015 drill programme. We expanded Flangovy an additional 400 metres eastward, increasing the global resource. Additionally, we have confirmed the continuity and grade of the Flangovy ore zone over a length of 800 metres, which should allow for a planned resource update from Inferred resource to Indicated. We have also identified Tier 1 mineralisation that could be mined using underground methods, and have started drilling some of next year's planned holes at Maly Kurumkon.

 

"The most significant of these accomplishments is the identification of mineralised ore comprised of underground mineable thickness typical of a Tier 1 operation.  The 2015 drilling confirms that nearly 80% of the nickel is contained within these structures averaging more than 1.0% nickel.  The addition of geological information and a continued increase in knowledge on the high grade mineralisation has also been highly beneficial.  With the increased knowledge that is garnered from each drill programme, the Company is reviewing domain modeling consideration at Kubuk and a part of Ikenskoe / Sobolevsky.  Statistical analyses will be completed and new open cast - underground domains will be examined to establish if additional Tier 1 production mineralisation can be identified. 

 

"Even though we approach the end of our drill season with temperatures approaching -20C, we are extremely busy and will remain so during the winter season.  We are already planning the 2016 season and engineering works related to the development of Kun-Manie.  There are technical milestones that we continue to pursue while simultaneously working toward a final Definitive Feasibility Study.  As we attain each milestone, we shall continue to inform our shareholders of the accomplishments."

 

 

Company Amur Minerals Corp.	Nomad and Broker S.P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP	Public Relations Yellow Jersey
Robin Young CEO	Ewan Leggat Laura Harrison	Dominic Barretto Harriet Jackson
+44 (0) 7981 126 818	+44 (0) 20 3470 0470	+44 (0) 7768 537 739

 

For additional information, visit the Company's website, www.amurminerals.com.

 

Notes to Editors:

 

The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by the CEO of Amur, Robin Young. Mr. Young is a Geological Engineer (cum laude) and is a Qualified Professional Geologist, as defined by the Toronto and Vancouver Stock Exchanges and has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" and as a "qualified person" as defined in the Guidance Note for Mining, Oil And Gas Companies, June 2009, of the London Stock Exchange.

 

Analytical Results:

 

The analytical results contained within this RNS are based on two sources.  The results for the drill holes completed prior to 2015 have been determined by ASL and are the final results used in the determination of resources and reserves.  The second set of information obtained during the current 2015 drill programme is determined by the Company using a Niton XL2 500 X-Ray Fluorescence unit ("Niton").  The Company considers the Niton results to be preliminary in nature and utilises the information for reporting purposes.  All samples for which Niton results are available are assayed by ALS.  The ALS results supersede those of the Company and are used in resource estimation.  Statistically, a comparision of the results confirms the Company results are reflective of the final results generated by ALS.

 

See the following link for schematic drawings and information related to this release.

 

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4905D_-2015-10-26.pdf

 

2015 Niton Results at 0.2% Cutoff Grade							High Grade Intervals >0.7% Nickel
Depth	Hole	From	To	Length	Ni %	Cu %	From	To	Length	Ni %	Cu %
175.0	C315	142.5	151.0	8.5	0.77	0.20	143.8	151.0	7.2	0.88	0.24
	C315	157.0	163.0	6.0	0.56	0.13	158.5	161.5	3.0	0.74	0.14
	C315			14.5	0.68	0.17			10.2	0.84	0.21
	C316	Barren
196.0	C317	123.4	145.6	22.2	0.64	0.15	123.4	130.0	6.6	1.05	0.50
	C317						140.5	144.4	3.9	0.73	0.15
	C317								10.5	0.93	0.37
121.0	C318	23.3	32.5	9.2	0.64	0.17	23.3	31.0	7.7	0.82	0.18
289.3	C311	215.5	271.3	55.8	1.13	0.25	215.5	257.5	42.0	1.20	0.26
	C311						262.0	271.3	9.3	1.26	0.35
	C311								51.3	1.21	0.27
325.0	C312	278.5	298.0	19.5	0.72	0.22	283.0	292.0	9.0	0.99	0.47
	C312	304.0	313.8	9.8	0.61	0.19	307.0	311.5	4.5	0.79	0.21
	C312			29.3	0.68	0.21			13.5	0.92	0.38
229.0	C313	136.6	140.5	3.9	0.38	0.17
266.2	C314	200.1	217.0	16.9	0.61	0.12	202.6	205.0	2.4	1.29	0.28
	C314						214.0	217.0	3.0	1.01	0.22
	C314								5.4	1.13	0.25
262.0	C304	149.5	152.5	3.0	0.36	0.21
	C304	158.9	161.5	2.6	0.33	0.17
	C304	248.5	257.7	9.2	0.87	0.25	250.0	255.7	5.7	1.10	0.40
	C304			14.8	0.67	0.23
395.0	C307	295.6	305.9	10.3	0.94	0.24	298.6	305.9	7.3	1.14	0.29
	C307	313.0	344.2	31.2	0.88	0.24	314.5	334.0	19.5	1.11	0.28
	C307	352.0	369.7	17.7	0.77	0.19	358.0	369.7	11.7	0.92	0.22
	C307			59.2	0.86	0.22			38.5	1.06	0.26
376.0	C310	310.6	326.1	15.5	0.91	0.25	312.1	324.6	12.5	1.02	0.31
	C310	331.1	343.9	12.8	0.55	0.14	331.1	334.0	2.9	0.82	0.20
	C310			28.3	0.75	0.20			15.4	0.98	0.29
229.6	C302	143.8	161.5	17.7	0.72	0.26	145.4	160.0	14.6	0.76	0.29
	C302	185.5	203.5	18.0	0.90	0.22	185.5	202.0	16.5	0.96	0.30
	C302	206.5	218.6	12.1	0.87	0.22	208.0	218.6	10.6	0.96	0.25
	C302			47.8	0.83	0.23			41.7	0.89	0.28
245.0	C303	224.5	234.8	10.3	0.94	0.26	226.9	234.8	7.9	1.17	0.31
400.0	C308	358.0	368.5	10.5	0.61	0.15	360.3	365.5	5.2	0.93	0.21
	C308	374.5	382.0	7.5	0.72	0.19	376.0	382.0	6.0	0.76	0.17
	C308			18.0	0.66	0.16			11.2	0.84	0.19
406.0	C309	317.5	331.0	13.5	0.80	0.16	317.5	322.0	4.5	1.37	0.23
	C309	341.5	362.3	20.8	0.80	0.20	341.5	349.0	7.5	1.04	0.28
	C309						358.0	361.0	3.0	0.80	0.20
	C309			34.3	0.80	0.19			15.0	1.09	0.25
3,915.10				364.5	0.81	0.21			234.0	1.02	0.28
Holes	14			26.0			13		18.0
Intervals	25			14.6			26		9.0

 

 

Pre - 2015 ASL Results at 0.2% Cutoff Grade							High Grade Intervals >0.7% Nickel
Depth	Hole	From	To	Length	Ni %	Cu %	From	To	Length	Ni %	Cu %
69.9	C197	15.1	21.2	6.1	0.47	0.15
	C197	38.6	46.8	8.2	1.00	0.43	40.1	45.6	5.5	1.17	0.65
	C197	50.0	62.6	12.6	0.82	0.26	53.3	59.5	6.2	1.14	0.33
	C197			26.9	0.79	0.29			11.7	1.15	0.48
94.8	C198	57.8	68.8	11.0	0.68	0.20	60.5	65.2	4.7	1.30	0.37
	C198	76.0	84.5	8.5	0.84	0.20	80.3	83.5	3.2	1.40	0.32
	C198			19.5	0.75	0.20			7.9	1.34	0.35
157.7	C199	99.9	105.1	5.2	0.95	0.22	99.9	105.1	5.2	0.95	0.22
	C199	116.3	123.7	7.4	0.78	0.19	117.9	122.3	4.4	0.90	0.21
	C199			12.6	0.85	0.20			9.6	0.93	0.22
	C201
167.4	C202	75.3	79.8	4.5	0.70	0.23
	C202	148.5	153.0	4.5	0.78	0.15	150.0	153.0	3.0	1.04	0.19
	C202			9.0	0.74	0.19			3.0	1.04	0.19
237.4	C202-1	137.3	146.5	9.2	0.59	0.28
	C202-1	161.1	213.7	52.6	0.92	0.24	162.1	193.0	30.9	0.97	0.26
							197.5	213.7	16.2	1.03	0.25
	C202-1			61.8	0.87	0.25			47.1	0.99	0.25
306.4	C202-2	202.4	219.2	16.8	0.64	0.16	207.2	211.4	4.2	1.04	0.25
	C203
253.2	C204	208.2	215.0	6.8	0.56	0.22
313.4	C204-1	184.9	198.3	13.4	0.41	0.18
	C204-1	220.8	224.9	4.1	0.31	0.16
	C204-1	236.9	245.5	8.6	0.60	0.26
	C204-1	249.3	263.9	14.6	0.25	0.09
	C204-1	280.1	298.6	18.5	0.68	0.22	280.1	293.2	13.1	1.03	0.26
	C204-1			59.2	0.48	0.18			13.1	1.03	0.26
	C205
	C206
199.2	C206-1	88.3	92.7	4.4	0.44	0.13
307.4	C206-2	176.3	186.2	9.9	0.30	0.09
	C206-2	222.9	253.4	30.5	1.01	0.27	224.9	253.4	28.5	0.96	0.26
	C206-2	261.5	262.4	0.9	0.24	0.15
	C206-2	268.8	285.5	16.7	0.92	0.21	271.4	285.5	14.1	1.03	0.23
	C206-2	291.5	298.2	6.7	1.24	0.21	291.5	298.2	6.7	1.24	0.21
	C206-2			64.7	0.89	0.22			49.3	1.02	0.25
136	C210	41.0	44.5	3.5	0.33	0.05
	C210	118.0	125.7	7.7	0.27	0.12
	C210			11.2	0.29	0.10
231.3	C210-1	154.3	169.3	15.0	1.10	0.27	155.8	167.8	12.0	1.25	0.29
	C210-1	175.8	191.5	15.7	0.956	0.259	175.8	184.3	8.5	1.05	0.22
							188.8	191.5	2.7	1.20	0.22
	C210-1	196.3	203.7	7.4	0.951	0.249	196.3	203.7	7.4	0.95	0.25
	C210-1	215.1	223.3	8.2	0.76	0.257	216.4	222.2	5.8	0.89	0.35
				46.3	0.97	0.26			36.4	1.08	0.27
2474.1				334.8	0.76	0.22			182.3	1.04	0.27
Holes	12			27.9			9		20.3
Intervals	30			11.2			19		9.6