Gabanintha Vanadium Project – Western Australia
The Gabanintha Vanadium Project consists of the Gabanintha high-grade V-Ti-Fe deposit located in the Murchison Province approximately 43kms south of the mining town of Meekatharra in Western Australia. The project consists of eight granted exploration licenses and one exploration license application in the Gabanintha Formation in the north of the Murchison granite-greenstone terrane of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton. The project has a mining licence application pending.
Mineralisation is hosted by an anorthositic gabbro intrusion striking north-northwest and dipping steep to moderately to the west. The intrusion has a talc-carbonate ultramafic footwall and both the intrusion and mineralisation are disrupted by later dolerites and granites and a series of east and east southeast trending faults.
Cross Section at Northing 7015735m Showing Drill Intercepts, High Grade and Low Grade Domains and Weathering Profiles
Gabanintha Vanadium Deposit – Mineral Resource Estimate
| Material | JORC Resource Class | Million tonnes | V205% | Fe% | Ti02% | SI02% | AL203% | L0I% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Grade | Measured | 10.2 | 1.06 | 41.6 | 12.0 | 11.6 | 8.6 | 4.2 |
| Indicated | 4.8 | 1.04 | 41.9 | 11.5 | 12.0 | 8.0 | 3.6 | |
| Inferred | 77.8 | 0.94 | 41.2 | 10.7 | 12.7 | 7.9 | 3.3 | |
| Sub-total | 92.8 | 0.96 | 41.3 | 10.9 | 12.16 | 8.0 | 3.4 | |
| Low Grade 2-5 | Indicated | 20.5 | 0.52 | 24.3 | 7.1 | 27.9 | 17.6 | 8.4 |
| Inferred | 61.8 | 0.50 | 26.2 | 7.0 | 26.9 | 16.1 | 7.2 | |
| Sub-total | 82.4 | 0.51 | 25.7 | 7.0 | 27.2 | 16.5 | 7.5 | |
| Trans 6-8 | Inferred | 4.5 | 0.66 | 28.4 | 7.2 | 24.5 | 16.6 | 8.4 |
| Sub-total | 4.5 | 0.66 | 28.4 | 7.2 | 24.5 | 16.6 | 8.4 | |
| Total | Measured | 10.2 | 1.06 | 41.6 | 12.0 | 11.6 | 8.6 | 4.2 |
| Indicated | 25.4 | 0.62 | 27.7 | 7.9 | 24.9 | 15.8 | 7.5 | |
| Inferred | 144.1 | 0.75 | 34.4 | 9.0 | 19.2 | 11.7 | 5.2 | |
| Total | 179.6 | 0.75 | 33.8 | 9.0 | 19.6 | 12.1 | 5.4 |
Note: Mineral Resource estimate using a 0.3% V2O5 cutoff for low grade and 0.7% V2O5 cutoff for high grade (total numbers may not add up due to rounding).
The table above summarises the results of the current Mineral Resource estimate by High Grade (HG), Low Grade domains (LG2-5) and Transported domains (Trans 6-8)
- 179.6 million tonnes at 0.75 % V2O5 containing 1,347,000 tonnes of V2O5
- Containing a discrete high-grade zone of 92.8 million tonnes at 0.96% V2O5 containing 890,000 tonnes of V2O5
- Discrete low-grade zones of 82.4 million tonnes at 0.51% V2O5 containing 420,000 tonnes of V2O5
Combined Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 35.5 Million tonnes at 0.74 % V2O5 in low and high-grade domains containing 260,000t V2O5, suitable to underpin a long life, low cost, high grade feed, open-cut mining operation.
Competent Person’s Statement
The information on this website that relates to Exploration Results and Exploration Targets is based on and fairly represents information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr Brian Davis (Consultant with Geologica Pty Ltd). Mr Davis is a shareholder of Australian Vanadium Limited. Mr Davis is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has sufficient experience of relevance to the styles of mineralisation and types of deposits under consideration, and to the activities undertaken to qualify as Competent Persons as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Specifically, Mr Davis consents to the inclusion on this website of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which they appear.
The information on this website that relates to Mineral Resources is based on and fairly represents information compiled by Mr Lauritz Barnes, (Consultant with Trepanier Pty Ltd) and Mr Brian Davis (Consultant with Geologica Pty Ltd). Mr Davis is a shareholder of Australian Vanadium Limited. Mr Barnes and Mr Davis are members of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and have sufficient experience of relevance to the styles of mineralisation and types of deposits under consideration, and to the activities undertaken to qualify as Competent Persons as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Specifically, Mr Barnes is the Competent Person for the estimation and Mr Davis is the Competent Person for the database, geological model and site visits. Mr Barnes and Mr Davis consent to the inclusion on this website of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which they appear.
Coates Vanadium Project – Western Australia
Coates vanadium deposit is situated approximately 35km east of the Perth metropolitan area in the Shire of Wundowie. AVL holds Exploration Licence E70/4924-I over the deposit.
The geology of the Coates deposit is unique and shows that vanadiferous magnetite is developed from the weathering profile of an underlying gabbro in a laterite outcrop on a ridge. The Coates vanadium deposit occurs in magnetite lenses at the core of the layered Coates Gabbro. The gabbro is poorly exposed in an area of extensive lateritization, but appears to be between two granitic bodies. The Coates Gabbro is about 1km long and up to 600m wide.
Exploration at Coates was undertaken in the 1970s after its discovery in the early 1960s. The mineralisation at Coates was described in the 1978 Geological Survey of WA Mineral Resources Bulletin No. 11.
The historical metallurgical test results indicated that a 58% recovery of vanadium at an approximate grade of 1.4% V2O5, 3% TiO2, 67% Fe grade with 8% SiO2 is achievable from bulk ore assaying 0.54% V2O5, 4.75% TiO2, 25% Fe and 29% SiO2 was achievable.
Mineralisation is closely associated with a series of titaniferous magnetite bands ranging in size from a few metres to 30m thick. There are two distinct zones of mineralisation a basal, massive, high grade band and an upper disseminated band with lower grade.
The deposit is over 12km along strike, outcrops at surface and is largely continuous. Over 13,000m of drilling has been conducted on the deposit comprising 155 reverse circulation (RC) holes and nine diamond (DD) holes. These holes have been geologically logged and sampled and were used to determine a JORC 2004 Compliant Mineral Resource Estimate in 2011.
Gabanintha Vanadium Deposit – Mineral Resource Estimate
| Material | JORC Resource Class | Million tonnes | In Situ Bulk Density | V205% | Fe% | Ti02% | SI02% | AL203% | L0I% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Grade | Indicated | 14.4 | 4.17 | 1.03 | 42.14 | 12.07 | 11.42 | 7.84 | 3.37 |
| Inferred | 46.0 | 4.16 | 0.97 | 42.15 | 11.19 | 12.37 | 8.28 | 3.20 | |
| Sub-total | 60.4 | 4.16 | 0.98 | 42.15 | 11.40 | 12.15 | 8.17 | 3.24 | |
| Low Grade | Indicated | 42.7 | 2.71 | 0.44 | 23.37 | 6.08 | 29.25 | 18.09 | 8.94 |
| Inferred | 22.7 | 2.67 | 0.42 | 22.65 | 6.08 | 30.62 | 16.96 | 6.92 | |
| Sub-total | 65.4 | 2.70 | 0.43 | 23.12 | 6.08 | 29.73 | 17.70 | 8.24 | |
| Total | Indicated | 57.0 | 2.97 | 0.59 | 28.10 | 7.59 | 24.76 | 15.51 | 7.54 |
| Inferred | 68.8 | 3.51 | 0.79 | 35.70 | 9.50 | 18.40 | 11.15 | 4.43 | |
| Total | 125.8 | 3.25 | 0.70 | 32.26 | 8.64 | 21.29 | 13.13 | 5.84 |
Note: In-situ dry bulk density has been assigned based on V2O5 grade, therefore density values quoted here are weighted average values. The Mineral Resource was estimated as a block model within constraining wireframes based upon logged geological boundaries and grade cut-offs of 0.30% V2O5 for Low Grade (LG) and 0.70% V2O5 for High Grade (HG). Tonnages have been rounded to reflect that this is an estimate.
Extensive historic and modern mining has occurred immediately adjacent and within the Gabanintha Project area and stakeholders are supportive of ongoing mining and exploration activity. The Company does not expect any significant environmental impediments to future mining and exploration activity will be identified.
Engineering scoping studies into the development of a vanadium mine at Gabanintha conducted in 2009 demonstrated that an operation to mine and beneficiate ore to produce ferro-vanadium is technically and commercially viable.
Recent developments in vanadium redox battery technology for grid-scale energy storage with improved vanadium demand fundamentals have underpinned the technical assessment into production options including high purity vanadium pentoxide and by-products. The Company is focused on definition of the most economical start-up mining and product combination that minimises capital expense and maximises value.
Initial metallurgical results have been highly encouraging and this is an area of current focus within an updated scoping study. Modified Davis Tube testwork (samples crushed to 500 micron), demonstrated significant increases in grades of vanadium for massive mineralisation types (fresh and transitional) and disseminated mineralisation (fresh). Oxide, transitional and fresh ore types behave differently and further metallurgical testing is required to develop optimised beneficiation parameters.
| Sample details | Fraction | Wt. Dist’n | V205 | V205 | Fe | Fe | SiO2 | SiO2 | TiO2 | TiO2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade | Distrib | Grade | Distrib | Grade | Distrib | Grade | Distrib | |||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | ||
| GRC 53 HG Fresh Massive | Calc Feed | 100 | 1.27 | 100 | 54.8 | 100 | 2.04 | 100 | 13.2 | 100 |
| Conc | 90.8 | 1.37 | 97.6 | 58.0 | 96.1 | 0.58 | 25.8 | 12.3 | 84.7 | |
| Tail | 9.2 | 0.33 | 2.4 | 23.0 | 3.9 | 16.4 | 74.2 | 21.8 | 15.3 | |
| GRC 53 Fresh LG Dissem HW | Calc Feed | 100 | 0.58 | 100 | 29.3 | 100 | 23.8 | 100 | 7.7 | 100 |
| Conc | 22.4 | 1.59 | 61.3 | 57.8 | 44.2 | 1.64 | 1.5 | 10.30 | 30.0 | |
| Tail | 77.6 | 0.22 | 38.7 | 21.1 | 55.8 | 30.2 | 98.5 | 6.9 | 70.0 | |
| GRG 54C High Fe Scree | Calc Feed | 100 | 0.89 | 100 | 46.4 | 100 | 11.0 | 100 | 9.04 | 100 |
| Conc | 13.5 | 1.04 | 15.8 | 56.0 | 16.3 | 3.45 | 4.2 | 8.12 | 12.2/tcol] | |
| Tail | 86.5 | 0.87 | 84.2 | 44.9 | 83.7 | 12.2 | 95.8 | 9.2 | 87.8 | |
| GRG 63 Transition Massive | Calc Feed | 100 | 1.17 | 100 | 51.0 | 100 | 4.22 | 100 | 12.5 | 100 |
| Conc | 35.9 | 1.34 | 41.2 | 56.3 | 39.6 | 0.87 | 7.4 | 12.1 | 34.8 | |
| Tail | 64.1 | 1.07 | 58.8 | 48.0 | 60.4 | 6.10 | 92.6 | 12.7 | 65.2 |
Nowthanna Hill Uranium Project – Western Australia
The Nowthanna exploration license application MLA 51/771 is located 47 km south east of Meekatharra and is accessible from the Great Northern Highway.
The tenement covers a portion of the calcrete Palaeo-channel near the Quinn’s Lake inland drainage. The predominant minerals are developed from extensive weathering and leaching of uranium-bearing domes and nearby Archaean mafic and ultramafic rocks that are high in vanadium.
In the late 1990s Acclaim Uranium NL actively explored the Nowthanna area and drill defined a historic resource which was confirmed by Australian Vanadium in 2012. The JORC 2004 compliant Indicated Resource on MLA 51/771 is;
- 3,059,000t @ 0.437 kg/t U3O8 (see ASX release dated 20 December 2012)
The exploration potential to find further uranium on the lease is considered high due to:
- Most drilling to date has been confined to the Palaeo-channel resource targets, not lacustrine sediment uranium targets
- Exploration drilling and sampling on sections of the area has only been reconnaissance in nature
- Poor coverage of detailed ground geophysics has limited the geology data.
The Nowthanna lease is located 47 km south east of Meekatharra and is accessible from the Great Northern Highway.
The tenement covers a portion of the calcrete Palaeo-channel near the Quinn’s Lake inland drainage. The predominant minerals are developed from extensive weathering and leaching of uranium-bearing domes and nearby Archaean mafic and ultramafic rocks that are high in vanadium.
The uranium exploration era began in the 1970s when WMC, Union Miniere, BHP and Rio Tinto became active across the Sandstone to Wiluna region.
The WMC uranium discovery at Nowthanna was the first calcrete-hosted style deposit found in the world. Later WMC found the massive resource, hosted in a similar style, at Yeelirrie. These leases hold an estimated 51,000 tonnes of contained U3O8.
In the late 1990s Acclaim Uranium NL actively explored the Nowthanna area and defined a JORC standard resource on the current YRR lease. The resource measured 3,289 contained tonnes of U3O8 from 7,309,450 tonnes of ore at 0,450 kg/t.
The exploration potential to find further uranium on the lease is high because:
- Most drilling to date has been confined to the Palaeo-channel resource targets, not lacustrine sediment uranium targets.
- Exploration drilling and sampling on sections of the area has only been reconnaissance in nature.
- Poor coverage of detailed ground geophysics has limited the geology data.
Masking, caused by recent alluvial soil and lake cover, has limited geochemistry data.
Masking, caused by recent alluvial soil and lake cover. Significant uranium resources contiguous with the Nowthanna Hill Resource located on MLA 51/771 are owned by uranium development company Toro Energy Limited (TOE.AX).
Competent Persons Statement
The information in this statement that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by independent consulting geologist Brian Davis B.Sc (Hons), Dip.Ed. Mr Davis is a Member of The Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Brian Davis is employed by Geologica Pty Ltd. Mr Davis has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which is undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’.
Mr. Davis consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on the information made available to him, in the form and context in which it appears”. The information that refers to Exploration Results and Mineral Resources in this announcement was prepared and first disclosed under the JORC Code 2004. It has not been updated since to comply with the JORC Code 2012 on the basis that the information has not materially changed since last reported.