27 November 2015
AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION
(AIM: AMC)
Boart Longyear LF-90 Drill Rig Purchase
Additional Capital Acquisitions
Amur Minerals Corporation ("Amur" or the "Company"), the nickel-copper sulphide mineral exploration and resource company focused on the far east of Russia, is pleased to inform shareholders that it has purchased and taken delivery of a new Boart Longyear LF-90 diamond core drill rig. In addition, two new D9R dozers have been purchased from Caterpillar as well as a 329D excavator. The purchase price for these key capital items is $US 2.48 million, of which 18% will be refunded to the Company as a Value Added Tax rebate. The newly acquired equipment will be shipped to its flagship Kun-Manie project site over the winter ice road in March 2016 and will substantially allow for advancing the development of the project.
The acquisition of this equipment will allow the Company to undertake key tasks related to the compilation of a Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") on its Kun-Manie project site and completion of associated Russian required documentation to obtain necessary operating permits.
Highlights:
● Newly acquired LF-90 will allow for drilling targets beyond the 400 metre depth that the current LF-70 is not capable of attaining under current drill conditions. This will allow for testing the down dip and deeper limits of mineralisation at Maly Kurumkon - Flangovy and Kubuk. According to factory specifications, the new rig is capable of drilling to depths of 900 metres (. The rig will enable the Company to double its drill capacity to more than 12,000 metres per season, swiftly advancing the project to a production design appropriate for the treatment of the nickel copper sulphide ores.
● The newly acquired Caterpillar D9R dozers increases the onsite dozer fleet to a total of five, providing a substantial increase in drill road and drill pad construction capabilities. Excess dozer capacity will allow for the Company to initiate additional preproduction work in the mill site area where up to 15 hydrological well sites are planned and site preparation is necessary. Also, the extra capacity will allow for the linking up of the 5 deposits located along the Kurumkon Trend and initiation of pilot road access construction from the planned production areas to the planned mill site.
● The 329D Caterpillar excavator will allow the Company to achieve two goals. In areas of massive outcrop where the dozers cannot complete road construction of their own accord, the breaker configured excavator will allow for final completion of the roads in areas of challenging terrain. Secondly and of important significance, the excavator will enable the Company to extract a bulk sample for metallurgical test work permitting the Company to refine and identify a more definitive plant design to process the Kun-Manie ores.
The addition of the new equipment adds significantly to the existing on site capabilities by a doubling of drill capabilities, a near doubling of the dozer capacity related to road and drill site construction and the ability to undertake selective extraction of metallurgical samples for definitive test work required to establish the appropriate process design for recovery of the sulphide nickel and copper at Kun-Manie. It is noted that approximately $US 445,000 of this purchase price will be recovered through Value Added Tax refunds in the coming months thereby reducing the total net cost to the Company to $US 2.03 million.
The Q4 2015 acquisition of the mobile equipment represents a significant advancement of the Company toward further evaluation of Kun-Manie's potential and establishment of the development plan necessary for a DFS.
Boart Longyear LF-90 Diamond Core Drill Rig
The addition of the LF-90 to Amur's LF-70 diamond core rig doubles the number of metres the Company can drill during a field season. By increasing the capacity of the drill metres, substantially more of the Inferred resource can be infill drilled at an accelerated rate, whilst allowing for this category of resource to be upgraded to that of Indicated. The expansion of the Indicated resource will allow for the definition of an increased reserve inventory for use in the DFS and subsequent assessment of the Net Present Value ("NPV") of the project. During 2015, the majority of the largest Inferred resource was drilled at Maly Kurumkon - Flangovy where infill drilling confirmed the continuity and grade of the Inferred resource. At conclusion of the 2015 programme, the largest remaining Inferred resource was located at the Kubuk deposit.
The 2016 drill programme will focus on the Kubuk deposit, the easternmost deposit located along the Kurumkon Trend. Presently, the deposit has been drilled to a spacing where the majority of the 20.6 million ore tonnes averaging 0.58% nickel (118,900 tonnes) and 0.16% copper (32,900 tonnes) is classified as an Inferred resource in accordance with JORC reporting standards. A total of 17.1 million Inferred tonnes is planned for infill drilling. The remainder is classified as Indicated resource. It is anticipated that approximately 7,000 to 8,000 metres of drilling is required to upgrade the Inferred area to that of Indicated. Additional step out drilling along strike to the east and down dip in excess of 400 metres in depth is also planned for expansion of the resource in the immediate area.
Through the acquisition of the additional rig, the resource conversion effort can be accelerated allowing for resource upgrade and recalculation of reserves earlier in 2016 than planned if a single rig was available for drilling.
Caterpillar D9R Dozers
The addition of two new Caterpillar D9R dozers represents a substantial upgrade in our capabilities for drill road and drill site construction at Kun-Manie. The two new units bring the total fleet to five dozers including the Chetra T35, Chetra T25 and Caterpillar D6G dozer already located on site. This newly expanded configuration will allow the Company to simultaneously work in numerous areas setting up Kun-Manie for ready access along the full length of the Kurumkon Trend, access between the production areas and the mill, and setting up the infrastructure facilities planned for the mill site area.
Caterpillar 329D Excavator
The 329D Caterpillar excavator, fitted with a rock breaker, will provide the Company with a broader and enhanced capability. In areas of massive outcrop, where the dozers cannot complete road construction on their own accord, the breaker will allow for final completion of the roads. Secondly, and of important significance, the excavator will allow the Company to extract a bulk sample for metallurgical test work permitting definitive plant design. A key element in the documentation required in the DFS.
Robin Young, CEO of Amur Minerals, commented:
"The addition of the newly acquired mobile capital fleet items provides the Company with the ability to expedite the compilation of the DFS on a swifter basis and to start preliminary development with regard to preparing the project site for ready access and preproduction development. These purchases will not only be key for near term objectives but will be available for use for an additional 4 to 5 years and can be considered to be the seed capital fleet of the development of Kun-Manie."
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) 7544 275 882 |
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.
