MKF Resource Update Initiated

 

14 December 2016

 

 

AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION

(AIM: AMC)

 

2016 Field Season Final Results

 

Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy Resource Update Initiated

 

Amur Minerals Corporation ("Amur" or the "Company"), the exploration and development company focused on base metal projects located in the Far East of Russia, is pleased to announce it has received the final independent analytical results from Alex Stewart Laboratories ("ASL") in Moscow, Russia.  These results include all drilling within the Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy ("MKF") deposit completed during the 2016 field season. The results have been submitted to Runge, Pincock, Minarco ("RPM"), who are generating an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") on MKF, the largest of the five deposits at the Company's flagship Kun-Manie nickel copper sulphide project.

 

Highlights:

 

·    The comprehensive independent set of analytical results generated by ASL is now complete and the MKF global drill results data base has been updated.

 

·    The analytical information presented within this RNS replaces all previously reported drilling results for the 2016 drill season.

 

·    The 2016 drill programme has identified both open pit and underground mineable thicknesses and grades suitable for the definition of JORC reserves.

 

·    Using a typical open pit cutoff grade of 0.2% nickel and a three metre mining thickness, the average drill interval thickness intersected during 2016 was 13.3 metres averaging 0.73% nickel and 0.21% copper.

 

·    Using a typical underground cutoff grade of 0.5% nickel, the average three metre minimum mineralised interval thickness is 10.5 metres averaging 0.88% nickel and 0.24% copper.

 

·    The global MKF data set has been delivered to RPM whose remit is to generate a fully updated MRE for delivery in Q1 2017.  The update will include a recalculation of the resource contained within the currently defined 2,100 metre long model and the additional 900 metres of new mineralisation defined by the 2016 drill programme.  This represents a more than 40% expansion in the length of the mineralisation to be modelled.

 

·    The updated Q1 2017 model will exclude sub-economic mineralisation providing a final MRE more reflective of the mining potential and grade of the ore that will be mined from the MKF deposit.

 

·    During the end of the field season, Amur executive management and RPM representatives conducted an audit and site visit of the Kun-Manie project.  A comprehensive review by the RPM team will mean the Company is able to report JORC compatible resources and reserves compiled by RPM.

 

Robin Young, CEO of Amur Minerals, commented:

 

"We are pleased to report that, working in conjunction with Runge, Pincock, Marco, we have initiated the update of the Mineral Resource Estimate for Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy using all drill information acquired during this year's field season and that previously acquired.  We expect that the reporting of resources will become more focused and representative of the reserve potential which will be included in the Definitive Feasibility Study.

 

We anticipate that delivery of the resource update in Q1 2017 will provide multiple improvements over the existing MKF resource.  This includes an expansion of 40% to the length of the high grade resource, a potential increase in the grade of the resource and substantial upgrade of the resource from Inferred to that of Indicated allowing us to fully evaluate the reserve potential of this deposit.  We are also nearing completion of the final reviews of the resource updates to the Ikenskoe / Sobolevsky, Vodorazdelny and Kubuk deposits, and we look forward to updating the market in due course."

 

 

MKF Drilling and Considerations

 

The Company has now received the final independent ASL analytical results for all MKF drilling (60 holes) completed in 2016.  This information replaces all Company generated results and has been fully updated into the global MKF drill data base.

 

The ASL results indicate the average mineralised thickness at a 0.2% nickel cutoff grade (in excess of a minimum of three continuous metres) averages 23.0 metres per mineralised hole with individual mineralised intervals being 13.3 metres in thickness.  The length weighted grades are 0.73% nickel and 0.21% copper.  This cutoff grade represents a typical open pit production cutoff grade related to near surface mineable mineral. 

 

In consideration of an underground production cutoff grade of 0.5% nickel, the average mineral thickness per hole is indicated to be 19.1 metres per hole and 10.5 metres per interval.  The average length weighted grades are 0.88% nickel and 0.24% copper.  These represent potential underground mineable resources suitable for extraction using a long hole retreat mining configuration.

 

The newly acquired ASL results for 2016 and all drilling completed prior to this year's 2016 drill programme have been forwarded to RPM for the purpose of updating the MRE at MKF.  It is anticipated that the majority of the anticipated Q1 2017 MRE update will be classified as an Indicated resource based on historical resource classification criteria and can therefore be used in the definition of reserves.  The Company also anticipates that the MRE high grade mineral zone will be significantly expanded due to the discovery of an additional 900 metres of higher grade mineralisation (previously defined to be 2,100 metres in total length) along strike in both the east and west directions.  The new MRE will focus on mineralisation that is most likely to be economically recovered at a mineable cutoff grade allowing for the exclusion of resource tonnes which are subeconomic.  This is in accordance with current JORC 2012 reporting standards for reserve reporting purposes.  It is also noted that the configuration and depth of the mineralisation will likely result in the majority of the MKF mineralisation being an underground production target with portions of near surface mineralisation being recovered from open pit mining methods.

 

For informational purposes, the analytical information presented within this RNS replaces all previously reported drilling results for the 2016 drill season.  Based on the comprehensive ASL results, a comparison of the final ASL and Company generated results for the year using a minimum continuous drill thickness of three metres at two cutoff grades is presented in the table below.  The nickel cutoff grades used in the comparison are 0.2% nickel (typical open pit) and 0.5% nickel (typical underground).

 

 

Comparison of Company versus ASL Analytical Results

 

Source	Holes	Average Per Hole (m)	Mineralised Intervals	Average Per Interval (m)	Ni (%)	Cu (%)
0.2% Nickel Cutoff Grade - Minimum 3 m mining thickness
Company	47	23.3	85	12.9	0.76	0.21
ASL	46	23.0	74	13.3	0.73	0.21
0.5% Nickel Cutoff Grade - Minimum 3 m mining thickness
Company	40	19.3	74	10.4	0.94	0.25
ASL	39	19.1	71	10.5	0.88	0.24

 

For convenience, the current resource estimate defined in Q2 2016 is presented below.  It is noted that the average 0.40% nickel grade of the existing global MRE is substantially lower in grade than indicated by the 2016 drill results which average from 0.76% to 0.88% nickel.  The Company anticipates that a substantial upgrade in the existing global MRE with regard to grade and tonnage will be derived by RPM in its update of the MKF resource.

 

SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd MKF Mineral Resource Estimate Q2 2016

Zero Nickel Cutoff Grade

 

Resource Category	Tonnes (millions)	Ni (%)	Ni (t)	Cu (%)	Cu (t)
Indicated High Grade	24.9	0.86	214,300	0.23	57,200
Indicated Low Grade	43.5	0.16	70,800	0.06	27,000
Total Indicated	68.4	0.42	285,200	0.12	84,200
Inferred High Grade	7.1	0.76	54,400	0.20	14,100
Inferred Low Grade	15.0	0.18	27,000	0.08	11,500
Total Inferred	22.2	0.37	81,400	0.12	25,700
Total High Grade	32.0	0.84	268,700	0.22	71,300
Total Low Grade	58.5	0.17	97,800	0.07	38,500
Total	90.6	0.40	366,600	0.12	109,900

 

Based on a 0.2% nickel cutoff grade, the current SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd MRE for MKF is estimated to consist of 50.2 million ore tonnes averaging 0.64% nickel containing 318,600 tonnes of nickel.  This MRE total consists of both Inferred and Indicate resources.  It is noted that the estimated resource grade of nickel is substantially lower than that indicated by the 2016 resource drill results at MKF.  The average length weighted nickel grade was 0.73%, approximately 14% higher than that of the existing MRE.

 

 

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
+74212755615	+44(0)203 470 0470		+44(0)754 427 5882

 

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

 

Alex Stewart Laboratory Results

MKF Mineralised Drill Intervals - 3 Metre Minimum

 

Hole	0.2% Nickel Cutoff Grade					0.5% Cutoff Grade
	From (m)	To (m)	Length (m)	Ni (%)	Cu (%)	From (m)	To (m)	Length (m)	Ni (%)	Cu (%)
C400
C401	199.5	205.3	5.8	0.88	0.20	201.0	205.3	4.3	1.09	0.24
	214.4	219.0	4.6	1.09	0.20	214.4	217.8	3.4	1.40	0.24
C402
C403	129.0	139.0	10.0	0.61	0.15	130.5	139.0	8.5	0.66	0.16
C406	23.5	61.7	38.2	0.70	0.17	23.5	49.0	25.5	0.80	0.19
						53.5	61.7	8.2	0.63	0.13
C404	50.9	76.0	25.1	0.74	0.19	53.9	72.8	18.9	0.84	0.25
	83.5	109.0	25.5	0.74	0.21	83.5	87.5	4.0	0.65	0.14
C405	131.9	140.9	9.0	0.51	0.15	131.9	134.9	3.0	0.94	0.26
	154.9	163.0	8.1	0.49	0.14	157.9	162.0	4.1	0.68	0.18
C407	74.9	143.3	68.4	0.93	0.24	74.9	98.2	23.3	0.92	0.23
						102.3	143.3	41.0	1.00	0.26
C408	155.0	165.5	10.5	0.74	0.22	155.0	164.0	9.0	0.79	0.24
	174.4	183.3	8.9	0.51	0.15	177.5	183.3	5.8	0.60	0.16
C409	135.8	201.1	65.3	0.83	0.24	135.8	154.3	18.5	0.85	0.28
						157.3	199.6	42.3	0.87	0.25
C415	233.7	244.1	10.4	0.57	0.15	235.1	241.1	6.0	0.75	0.28
	253.1	259.0	5.9	0.41	0.15	253.1	256.1	3.0	0.60	0.24
C326	14.5	19.0	4.5	0.23	0.11
	31.0	46.0	15.0	0.47	0.23	37.0	40.0	3.0	0.70	0.23
	56.6	74.1	17.5	0.79	0.18	59.5	74.1	14.6	0.89	0.20
C327	94.0	98.5	4.5	0.27	0.07
C410	227.3	230.3	3.0	0.22	0.16
C411	181.1	187.0	5.9	0.26	0.12
C412	211.9	241.0	29.1	0.71	0.18	211.9	222.3	10.4	0.95	0.20
						228.7	239.0	10.3	0.71	0.23
C413	152.0	158.0	6.0	0.49	0.21
C414	236.3	251.3	15.0	0.91	0.23	236.3	251.3	15.0	0.92	0.23
	260.3	296.7	36.4	0.88	0.22	260.3	294.6	34.3	0.91	0.23
C416	227.2	237.5	10.3	0.70	0.22	227.2	237.5	10.3	0.70	0.22
	244.0	254.7	10.7	0.48	0.14
C417	288.1	297.1	9.0	0.75	0.19	288.1	292.6	4.5	1.20	0.28
	303.1	313.6	10.5	0.35	0.16
C418	274.5	292.6	18.1	0.90	0.22	274.5	290.6	16.1	0.96	0.24
C419	207.0	211.1	4.1	0.28	0.12
C420	237.7	243.4	5.7	0.73	0.21	237.7	243.4	5.7	0.73	0.21
	246.8	288.6	41.8	0.79	0.21	246.8	261.8	15.0	0.75	0.21
						266.3	285.6	19.3	0.98	0.25
C421	305.1	332.6	27.5	0.82	0.14	305.1	318.6	13.5	0.88	0.25
						321.6	331.1	9.5	1.00	0.18
C422
C423
C424	98.4	112.3	13.9	0.94	0.24	100.0	112.3	12.3	1.00	0.24
	174.2	180.4	6.2	0.48	0.15	177.3	180.4	3.1	0.71	0.19
C425
C426
C324	231.7	243.7	12.0	0.59	0.20	231.7	235.7	4.0	1.06	0.25
	248.5	252.1	3.6	0.79	0.19
C325
C328
C329	337.4	351.3	13.9	0.80	0.21	337.4	346.8	9.4	1.01	0.25
	359.7	372.0	12.3	0.63	0.16	365.7	372.0	6.3	0.96	0.23
C330	253.3	267.8	14.5	0.68	0.19	254.7	263.1	8.4	0.98	0.27
	281.8	286.6	4.8	0.94	0.19	281.8	286.6	4.8	0.94	0.19
C427
C331
C428	317.8	321.9	4.1	0.72	0.26	317.8	321.9	4.1	0.72	0.26
C332	296.7	310.0	13.3	0.64	0.23	299.0	307.2	8.2	0.86	0.28
	320.2	326.3	6.1	0.23	0.11
	369.0	373.6	4.6	0.61	0.21	369.0	373.6	4.6	0.61	0.21
C429	276.5	308.0	31.5	0.92	0.21	279.5	306.5	27.0	1.02	0.23
	317.0	333.8	16.8	0.88	0.24	320.0	333.8	13.8	0.98	0.26
	338.6	352.0	13.4	0.85	0.22	338.6	350.5	11.9	0.93	0.24
C333	314.5	323.5	9.0	0.81	0.27	314.5	322.0	7.5	0.90	0.31
	340.2	344.5	4.3	0.89	0.29	340.2	343.5	3.3	1.01	0.23
C430	357.1	370.0	12.9	0.63	0.14	357.1	363.3	6.2	0.96	0.16
	401.0	410.1	9.1	0.63	0.15	403.5	408.4	4.9	0.83	0.17
C334	365.3	374.1	8.8	0.56	0.19	366.3	369.3	3.0	0.92	0.20
C335	195.8	204.1	8.3	0.68	0.29	195.8	204.1	8.3	0.68	0.29
	209.3	221.2	11.9	0.74	0.23	210.9	221.2	10.3	0.77	0.24
C336	231.2	248.5	17.3	0.93	0.39	233.5	248.5	15.0	1.00	0.43
	271.0	295.7	24.7	0.84	0.23	271.0	291.3	20.3	0.96	0.28
C337	267.3	278.4	11.1	0.77	0.19	267.3	276.8	9.5	0.83	0.19
	286.8	298.1	11.3	0.64	0.16	290.9	298.1	7.2	0.83	0.17
C431	298.7	301.1	2.4	0.65	0.10
C432	254.8	278.0	23.2	0.77	0.26	254.8	275.5	20.7	0.80	0.27
	285.6	298.7	13.1	0.77	0.26	285.6	297.2	11.6	0.84	0.28
C433	312.8	320.3	7.5	0.72	0.21	314.3	318.8	4.5	0.79	0.22
C434	173.5	186.2	12.7	0.42	0.12	178.5	181.7	3.2	0.79	0.18
	201.9	208.6	6.7	0.55	0.26	203.4	207.5	4.1	0.62	0.27
	225.1	233.0	7.9	0.65	0.18	225.1	231.0	5.9	0.73	0.21
C435	204.7	221.0	16.3	0.80	0.23	204.7	214.7	10.0	1.15	0.29
	238.8	252.7	13.9	0.86	0.20	240.3	252.7	12.4	0.90	0.20
C436	252.7	259.1	6.4	0.66	0.22	252.7	257.5	4.8	0.80	0.26
	275.6	280.8	5.2	0.74	0.24	275.6	280.8	5.2	0.74	0.24
C437	332.4	337.3	4.9	0.88	0.24	332.4	337.3	4.9	0.88	0.24
	357.3	362.7	5.4	0.65	0.23	357.3	361.5	4.2	0.72	0.21
C438
C439	126.4	141.6	15.2	0.71	0.18	129.9	139.0	9.1	0.95	0.22
	161.5	177.5	16.0	0.67	0.18	167.5	174.5	7.0	0.97	0.23
C440
C441
C442	91.1	99.0	7.9	0.77	0.19	91.1	99.0	7.9	0.77	0.19
	111.0	115.0	4.0	0.52	0.18
C443
C444	104.2	107.8	3.6	0.36	0.20
C445	51.5	58.5	7.0	0.44	0.22
	88.0	91.0	3.0	0.33	0.30
	140.5	148.3	7.8	0.59	0.20	144.1	148.3	4.2	0.85	0.28

 

Note: If no value is present, no mineralisation was encountered.

 

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.

Notes to Editors

 

The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by the CEO of Amur, Mr. Robin Young.  Mr. Young is a Geological Engineer (cum laude), a Professional Geologist licensed by the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, and is a Qualified Professional Geologist, as defined by the Toronto and Vancouver Stock Exchanges.  An employee of Amur for 12 years, previously Mr. Young was employed as an exploration and mine geologist, mining engineer, construction manager of a mine startup as well as independent consultant with Fluor Engineers, Fluor Australia and Western Services Engineering, Inc. during which time his responsibilities included the independent compilation of resources and reserves in accordance with JORC standards.  In addition, he has been the lead engineer and project manager in the compilation of numerous studies and projects requiring the compilation of independent Bankable Studies utilised to finance small to large scale projects worldwide.  Mr. Young is responsible for the content of this announcement which includes information derived by SRK Consulting Ltd and Alex Stewart Laboratories.

 

Glossary 

DEFINITIONS OF EXPLORATION RESULTS, RESOURCES & RESERVES

EXTRACTED FROM THE JORC CODE: (December 2012) (www.jorc.org) 

A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories. 

An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological and/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes which may be limited or of uncertain quality and reliability. 

An 'Indicated Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a reasonable level of confidence. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The locations are too widely or inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be assumed.

A 'Measured Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of confidence. It is based on detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The locations are spaced closely enough to confirm geological and/or grade continuity.

An 'Ore Reserve' is the economically mineable part of a Measured and/or Indicated Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses which may occur when the material is mined. Appropriate assessments and studies have been carried out, and include consideration of and modification by realistically assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction could reasonably be justified. Ore Reserves are sub-divided in order of increasing confidence into Probable Ore Reserves and Proved Ore Reserves.