Wapiti Inferred Phosphate Resource
Perth, Aug 8, 2014 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Fertoz Limited (
ASX:FTZ( ("Fertoz" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a maiden phosphate resource estimate at its 100%-owned Wapiti Project in British Columbia, Canada.
The Inferred Resource of 1.54 Mt @ 21.6% P2O5 (at a 7% cut-off) has been calculated to a depth of 30m along a strike length of 12.5 km. This resource is contained within a global Exploration Target of between 2.9 Mt and 3.3 Mt at 20.8% to 22.2% P2O5 which is estimated to a depth of 30m along a 27km strike length. The Mineral Resource is a sub-set of the global Exploration Target
The Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration (namely drilling) outside the area used to support the Mineral Resource to define a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the definition of a Mineral Resource.
Managing Director Les Szonyi said, "The resource results exceed our expectations and suggest that the project has the capability to support production volumes of greater than 75,000 tonnes per annum."
"The construction of a new 2km access road is almost complete and we expect to start extracting bulk material this month. The bulk sample collection process will also help us optimise our mining method for the small mining application of up to 75,000 tonnes per annum."
Inferred Resource
Exploration at Wapiti has included 81 diamond drill holes and multiple trenches and surface samples between 1978 and 2013. This information has been used by J.T. Shearer, M. Sc., P. Geo., and G. Shevchenko, B. Sc. (Eng.) of Coastal Resource Mapping Ltd to estimate a Mineral Resource and exploration target in accordance with JORC 2012. Resources are calculated using the Polygonal-Weighted Average method and are summarised in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1 Wapiti East Inferred Resource
-------------------------------------------------------------- Depth below Tonnes P2O5 Al2O3 CaO MgO SiO2 Fe2O3surface (m) Category (million) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) --------------------------------------------------------------30 Inferred 1.54 21.6 1.9 43.6 1.3 13.7 1.2--------------------------------------------------------------
The Inferred Resource was calculated within 4 distinct areas in the project (Figure 1) and these are summarised in Table 2. Resources were based on a 12.5km strike length of phosphate-bearing sediments. The phosphate-rich horizon has an average width of 1 m and was extrapolated to a depth of 30m. The density of the phosphate has been calculated at 2.845 t/m3 by Metsolve Laboratory using empirical test work and supported using stoichiometric calculations.
Table 2 Wapiti East Inferred Resource by phosphate zone
----------------------------------------------------------Area Description Category Length Depth Width P2O5 Resource (km) (m) (m) (%) (t) ---------------------------------------------------------Red Deer - East Limb Inferred 5.6 30 1.0 23.0 773,490 ---------------------------------------------------------Red Deer - West Limb Inferred 4.4 30 0.95 19.7 499,920 ---------------------------------------------------------Red Deer - West West Limb Inferred 1.5 30 1.13 22.5 138,020 ---------------------------------------------------------Wapiti Syncline Inferred 1.0 30 1.0 18.6 126,530 ---------------------------------------------------------Total Inferred 12.5 30 1.0 21.6 1,537,960---------------------------------------------------------
Exploration Target
The Exploration Target for Wapiti is based on a phosphate-bearing horizon having a mapped strike length of 27km and extrapolation to a depth of 30m below surface and is shown in Table 3. The phosphate bearing layer is uniform in thickness with a density of 2.845 t/m3.
Table 3: Wapiti Exploration Target
--------------------------------------------------Depth below Tonnes Width P2O5surface (m) Category (million) (m) (%) range -------------------------------------------------- Exploration 2,925,290- 0.85 to 20.8 to 30 Target 3,293,710 0.97 22.2--------------------------------------------------
The Mineral Resource is estimated from within the area used to calculate the Exploration Target and they are not exclusive of each other. The remaining strike length (14.5km) not supporting the Mineral Resource estimation is calculated to support an Exploration Target of 1.4-1.8Mt at 20.8-22.2% P2O5
The data derived from Fertoz and historical work, is considered insufficient for the calculation of a Mineral Resource over the entire 27km phosphorite zone, as defined by the JORC Code (2012). It is considered sufficient to support a Mineral Resource estimation of 12.5km phorphorite zone. It is also considered adequate to calculate an Exploration Target under these guidelines over the 27km strike length. The Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the definition of a Mineral Resource.
Phosphate mineralisation is hosted in sedimentary "Stratiform" style mineralisation and work conducted to date has identified a regular, extensive strike length of phosphate-bearing sediments which have a fairly consistent thickness and grade distribution. The relatively uniform nature of mineralised horizons, in both width, down dip continuity and consistency along strike supports the determination of the Exploration Target.
The Exploration Target is derived from mapping, and drilling, trenching, surface sampling results from historical reports by Esso, Pacific Ridge Exploration and Fertoz Limited. The data for each section was extrapolated with varying distances between data points. Mineralisation was extrapolated to 30m depth below surface based on historic reports referencing mineralisation style and exposure. Historical drill and trenching records have been used to estimate width ranges. Density values were determined from laboratory tests on ground bulk samples.
The Exploration Target does not include areas covered by exploration permits acquired in April 2014 (subsequent to the date of this estimation) that increased the potential phosphorite horizon by 44% from 27km to 39km. These exploration permits have been excluded from the Exploration Target due to insufficient supporting data at this time.
It is proposed to conduct drilling in 2015 to test the validity of the Exploration Target outside the 12.5km which supports the Mineral Resource estimate.
About Wapiti
The Wapiti Project (which includes the Wapiti East and Wapiti West tenements) totals an area of 18,070 ha and is located near Tumbler Ridge, in British Columbia, Canada. The project is easily accessible by sealed roads and forest service roads and has rail access within 80 km. The Company is focused on the Wapiti East tenements and previous work indicates a consistent and continuous at-surface phosphate-bearing horizon which has a potential strike length of up to 39km. Results of phosphate testing indicates up to 10% availability which makes the product at Wapiti East particularly attractive to the North American organic sector, the largest organic market in the world.
To view all tables and figures, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-FTZ-810541.pdf
About Fertoz Ltd
Fertoz (ASX:FTZ) is an Australian-based phosphate exploration and development company with a range of projects in British Columbia, Canada as well as Queensland and the Northern Territory. The Company is focused on becoming a fertiliser producer as quickly as possible, initially focusing on the Canadian/USA markets.
Fertoz plans to develop its exploration assets in Canada in order to identify any potential Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) projects. It intends to seek joint venture partners to assist in funding the exploration projects in Australia.
Phosphate is a commodity necessary for feeding the world, and Fertoz is ready to capitalise on this growing demand.
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