TIDMBKY
RNS Number : 7856W
Berkeley Resources Limited
31 January 2013
BERKELEY RESOURCES LIMITED
AIM RELEASE | 31 JANUARY 2013 | ASX/AIM:BKY
DECEMBER 2012 QUARTERLY REPORT
Berkeley Resources Limited ('Berkeley' or the 'the Company') is
pleased to present its quarterly report for the period ended 31
December 2012.
Highlights:
-- A positive Scoping Study was completed in November and
confirmed the technical and economic viability of the Salamanca
Project, including:
Ø Initial mine life of 11 years, including 7 years steady state
operation, with strong potential to increase;
Ø Steady state annual production of 3.2 million pounds U(3) O(8)
, with average annual production of 2.6 million pounds U(3) O(8)
over the life of mine;
Ø Life of mine average operating costs of US$25.65 per pound of
U(3) O(8) ;
Ø Upfront capital cost of US$83.6 million to deliver initial
production. A further US$95.0 million, incurred in the second year
of production and largely funded from operating cashflow, to
achieve steady state operation.
-- Pre-Feasibility Study commenced, targeting completion in mid
2013. The study was awarded to Johannesburg based SENET, who will
be assisted by SRK Consulting for mine design, Knight Piesold for
heap design and Duro Felguera for the in-country project cost
estimates.
-- The permitting process for Retortillo continued to advance
with the Company's responses to the submissions received during the
30 day Public Information Period being delivered to the relevant
authorities for their review and evaluation. The Nuclear Safety
Council has also confirmed that all required information for the
preparation of their compulsory report regarding the mining
activities, and for the Initial Authorization of the process plant
as a radioactive facility has been submitted.
-- The permitting process for Alameda was initiated with the
submission to the relevant authorities of the Environmental Scoping
Document and documentation associated with the application for
reclassification (from rural to industrial use) of the affected
surface land area.
The Directors are encouraged by the positive results of the
Scoping Study, which clearly demonstrate the potential of the
Salamanca Project to support a significant scale, long life uranium
mining operation. Accordingly, the Company continues to focus on
pursuing the ongoing exploration, appraisal and development of the
Project in order to fulfil its strategic objective of becoming the
next European uranium producer.
Enquiries: Robert Behets
Berkeley Resources
+61 8 9322 6322
OPERATIONS
Berkeley Resources Limited ('Berkeley' or 'the Company') is a
uranium exploration and development company with a quality resource
base in Spain. Berkeley is currently focused on advancing its
wholly owned flagship Salamanca Project.
Salamanca Project
The Salamanca Project ('the Project') comprises the Retortillo,
Alameda and Gambuta deposits plus a number of other Satellite
deposits located in western Spain.
The results of a Preliminary Feasibility Study completed in
early 2012 confirmed the technical and economic viability of a
stand-alone project exploiting Retortillo, whilst Alameda formed
part of a separate Feasibility Study completed in 2011.
In November 2012, the Company completed an initial assessment of
the integrated development of Retortillo and Alameda and reported
the results of the Scoping Study ('the Study').
The Study was managed by Berkeley with input from a number of
industry-recognised specialist consultants covering the key
disciplines. The Study incorporated all of the information
generated from the previous studies conducted on Retortillo and
Alameda, as well as new, more recently completed drilling and
metallurgical testwork data.
Scoping Study Results
Using only the current Mineral Resource Estimates for Retortillo
and Alameda, which total 33.9 million pounds U(3) O(8) (35.9
million tonnes at 429 ppm; 200 ppm U(3) O(8) cut-off grade), as a
base case scenario, the Project can support an average annual
production of 3.2 million pounds of U(3) O(8) during the seven
years of steady state operation and 2.6 million pounds of U(3) O(8)
over a minimum eleven year mine life. There is strong potential to
increase the production profile and mine life through the
exploitation of additional resources held by the Company (totalling
27.1 million pounds U(3) O(8) ) and with ongoing exploration
work.
The Study was based on open pit mining, heap leaching, a
centralised process plant at Retortillo, and a remote ion exchange
operation at Alameda, with loaded resin trucked to the centralised
plant for final extraction and purification. The Company currently
favours a contractor mining scenario. The average annual ore
processing rate during steady state operation is 5.5 million
tonnes. Operating cost estimates average US$25.65 per pound U(3)
O(8) over the life of mine.
The initial capital cost (nominally +/- 30% accuracy) for the
Project is estimated at US$83.6 million. This cost is inclusive of
all mine, processing, infrastructure and indirect costs required to
develop and commence production at Retortillo. A further US$95.0
million of capital, incurred in the second year of production and
largely funded from operating cashflow, is required to develop
Alameda and achieve steady state operation. The Project's capital
cost reflects the excellent existing infrastructure, use of heap
leaching as the preferred processing route, and the favoured mining
contractor scenario (no mining fleet capital expenditure).
The Directors are encouraged by the positive results of the
Scoping Study which clearly demonstrate the potential of the
integrated Salamanca Project to support a significant scale, long
life uranium mining operation. Further details on the Study are
available in the Company's ASX Announcement dated 29 November
2012.
Pre-Feasibility Study
Following completion of the Scoping Study, Berkeley has
commenced a Pre-Feasibility Study ('PFS') for the Salamanca
Project. The PFS was awarded to the Johannesburg based company
SENET, which will develop the study assisted by SRK Consulting for
the mine design, Knight Piesold for the heaps design and Duro
Felguera for the in-country project cost estimates.
The Company will undertake a more detailed mine scheduling and
materials movement optimisation study, metallurgical testwork
program and infrastructure assessment during the PFS phase, with
the aim of identifying opportunities to further enhance the Project
economics through capital and operating cost reductions. Resource
infill and exploration drilling programs aimed at upgrading the
resource classification and increasing the overall resource base
are also underway.
The PFS will be carried out with a confidence level of +/-20%
for both the capital and operating cost estimates and will include
the design details required to be submitted to the Spanish Nuclear
Safety Council as part of the Authorization for Construction
process for the processing plant.
Further metallurgical testwork will be carried out at the Mintek
laboratories in Johannesburg and the Australian Nuclear Science and
Technology Organisation ('ANSTO') facilities in Sydney.
The testwork program at Mintek aims to confirm the leaching
efficiency for each phase of the mine schedule and test ore
variability with respect to size distribution and geo-mechanical
behaviour. The ANSTO testwork program is designed to facilitate the
selection of the optimal backend of the process, with the
performance of direct Solvent Extraction ('SX') and ammonium
diuranate ('ADU') precipitation being compared to ion exchange
('IX') and UO(4) precipitation.
Drilling and Mineral Resource Estimation
Drilling activity during the quarter included diamond drilling
('DD') at Retortillo and Alameda for resource definition, to
provide drill core for metallurgical testwork and to provide drill
core for geotechnical testwork. Details of the 1,836 metres of DD
completed are summarised in Table 1.
Table 1: 2012 Drilling Summary
Project RC Q1 2012 RC Q2 2012 RC Q3 2012 RC Q4 2012 RC TOTAL
2012
------------
Holes Metres Holes Metres Holes Metres Holes Metres Holes Metres
------------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ -------
Retortillo 74 4,459 74 4,459
------------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ -------
Villares 59 3,331 59 3,331
------------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ -------
Gambuta 16 1,229 16 1,229
------------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ -------
Total 133 7,790 16 1,229 0 0 0 0 149 9,019
------------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ -------
DD Q1 2012 DD Q2 2012 DD Q3 2012 DD Q4 2012 DD Total
2012
Holes Metres Holes Metres Holes Metres Holes Metres Holes Metres
------------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ -------
Retortillo 12 735 6 508 1 70 19 963 38 2,276
------------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ -------
Gambuta 3 269 3 269
------------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ -------
Alameda 1 44 18 872 19 916
------------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ -------
Total 12 735 9 777 2 114 37 1,836 60 3,462
------------ ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ -------
Retortillo and Alameda
Diamond drilling continued during the December quarter at
Retortillo and Alameda. This resource infill drilling is planned to
facilitate further resource definition and to provide drill core
for the next phases of metallurgical testwork being conducted as
part of the feasibility studies. In addition, short diamond drill
holes were drilled in areas of potential infrastructure sites to
test the geotechnical characteristics of these areas.
The infill drilling at Retortillo was focussed on the first
three phases of the current planned open pit mining schedule. The
drilling results indicate that the mineralisation intersected was
largely in line with the resource model predictions however, some
drilling in the phase one mining area showed the mineralisation to
be more erratic than predicted.
The results are based on down-hole gamma logging data and are
presented as "equivalent" U(3) O(8) grades or eU(3) O(8) . Some of
the better results reported include 26 metres at 576 ppm eU(3) O(8)
from 37 metres depth in RTD341, 23 metres at 490 ppm eU(3) O(8)
from 32 metres depth in RTD343 and 16 metres at 1,079 ppm eU(3)
O(8) from 1 metre depth in RTD355 (Table 2).
Table 2: Retortillo Drilling - Significant Intersections (200ppm
eU(3) O(8) cut-off)
Retortillo From To Thickness eU(3) O(8)
(m) (m) (m) (ppm)
------------ ----- ----- ---------- -----------
RTD-341 26.0 33.0 7.0 1,061
37.0 63.0 26.0 576
66.0 80.0 14.0 779
------------ ----- ----- ---------- -----------
RTD-343 32.0 55.0 23.0 490
------------ ----- ----- ---------- -----------
RTD-350 23.0 28.0 5.0 1,023
------------ ----- ----- ---------- -----------
RTD-351 34.0 49.0 15.0 458
82.0 94.0 12.0 808
------------ ----- ----- ---------- -----------
RTD-354 7.0 17.0 10.0 900
----- ----- ---------- -----------
RTD-355 1.0 17.0 16.0 1,079
------------ ----- ----- ---------- -----------
At Alameda drilling was focused on the first two phases of the
current planned open pit mining schedule. The drilling results
indicate that the mineralisation intersected was in line with the
resource model predictions. The drilling was also successful in
demonstrating potential extensions to the current resource. Some of
the better results reported include 14 metres at 924 ppm eU(3) O(8)
from 3 metres in ASD139, 11 metres at 2,469 ppm eU(3) O(8) from 70
metres in ASD141 and 27 metres at 1,184 ppm eU(3) O(8) from 85
metres in ASD143 (Table 3).
Table 3: Alameda Drilling - Significant Intersections (200ppm
eU(3) O(8) cut-off)
Alameda From To Thickness eU(3)
O(8)
(m) (m) (m) (ppm)
--------- ----- ------ ---------- ------
ASD-136 13.0 23.0 10.0 723
ASD-138 6.0 21.0 15.0 404
ASD-139 3.0 17.0 14.0 924
--------- ----- ------ ---------- ------
ASD-141 70.0 81.0 11.0 2,469
--------- ----- ------ ---------- ------
ASD-143 43.0 61.0 18.0 688
70.0 78.0 8.0 604
85.0 112.0 27.0 1,184
--------- ----- ------ ---------- ------
Regional Tenements
A program of regional water sampling has commenced in the region
surrounding Retortillo. Preliminary results have highlighted the
potential for this sampling methodology to detect areas of
anomalous uranium associated with mineralisation. Further sampling
and evaluation is underway to determine the effectiveness of this
exploration method.
Gambuta
A Desktop Study undertaken on the Gambuta deposit, following the
recent Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE') update, has highlighted
the significant potential of the deposit. Gambuta, which is located
approximately 145 kilometres southeast of Retortillo, has an
Inferred MRE of 12.7 million tonnes at 394 ppm U(3) O(8) for a
total of 11.1 million pounds of U(3) O(8) at a 200 ppm U(3) O(8)
cut-off grade (Refer September 2012 Quarterly Report). Following
the positive results of the Desktop Study, initial metallurgical
testwork will be undertaken during the March quarter to determine
the leaching characteristics of the mineralisation.
Permitting
The permitting process at Retortillo continues to advance.
During the quarter, the Company's responses to the submissions
received during the 30 day Public Information Period (completed in
mid September) were delivered to the relevant authorities for their
review and evaluation. Follow-up discussions regarding appropriate
mitigation measures have been held with the authorities. It is
anticipated that the Project will be raised for mining and
environmental approval within the first half of 2013.
The Initial Authorisation for the process plant as a radioactive
facility is well advanced. The Nuclear Safety Council has informed
Berkeley that they have all required information for the
preparation of their compulsory report regarding the mining
activities, and also for the Initial Authorization of the process
plant as a radioactive facility. Both are anticipated during the
June quarter of 2013.
Ancillary permits, such as those associated with water and
roads, are also currently being advanced. Discussions have been
held with the relevant authorities (including the Water Authority
and Roads Department) and the required documentation submitted.
At Alameda, the Environmental Scoping Document and the
documentation associated with the change of the zoning of rural
land into that suitable for industrial purposes were submitted in
November and December, respectively. The Exploitation Plan,
Rehabilitation and Closure Plans and documents related to
Radiological Protection will be prepared based on the design
developed as part of the PFS, targeting submission of these
documents by mid 2013.
CORPORATE
At 31 December 2012 the Company had cash reserves of A$32.5
million.
In November 2012, Señor Jose Ramon Esteruelas retired as a
Non-Executive Director. Señor Esteruelas had been a Director of
Berkeley since November 2006 and played a key role as the Company
moved from explorer to developer in Spain.
Competent Persons Statement
The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration
Results and Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by
Craig Gwatkin, who is a Member of The Australian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy and is an employee of Berkeley Resources
Limited. Mr. Gwatkin has sufficient experience which is 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 2004 Edition of the
'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr. Gwatkin consents to the inclusion
in the report of the matters based on his information in the form
and context in which it appears.
Forward Looking Statement
Statements regarding plans with respect to the Company's mineral
properties are forward-looking statements. There can be no
assurance that the Company's plans for development of its mineral
properties will proceed as currently expected. There can also be no
assurance that the Company will be able to confirm the presence of
additional mineral deposits, that any mineralisation will prove to
be economic or that a mine will successfully be developed on any of
the Company's mineral properties.
Appendix A: Summary of Diamond Drill Intersections
Retortillo Drilling (e-grades only)
Drill Intersections
> 200ppm eU(3) O(8)
------------------------------------
Hole Easting Northing Elev. Depth Azim Dip From To Thick eU(3)
ID O(8)
(m) (m) (m) (m) ( ( (m) (m) (m) (ppm)
) )
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-340 719460 4520377 752.1 70.40 360 -90 No significant mineralisation
RTD-341 719367 4520737 734.2 90.45 163 -60 26.0 33.0 7.0 1,061
37.0 63.0 26.0 576
66.0 80.0 14.0 779
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-342 719671 4520294 741.1 68.50 343 -60 43.0 49.0 6.0 249
62.0 65.0 3.0 545
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-343 719548 4520330 748.0 62.90 343 -60 32.0 55.0 23.0 490
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-344 719792 4520202 740.4 60.30 298 -60 39.0 41.0 2.0 320
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-345 719923 4520076 743.1 61.95 343 -60 33.0 43.0 10.0 247
47.0 54.0 7.0 788
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-346 719913 4520154 745.3 61.50 307 -60 29.0 32.0 3.0 448
41.0 46.0 5.0 285
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-347 719199 4520741 721.6 50.35 360 -90 No significant intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------------------------------------
RTD-348 719152 4520652 722.0 30.00 118 -60 No significant intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------------------------------------
RTD-349 719366 4520736 733.8 49.00 208 -60 5.0 7.0 2.0 369
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-350 719260 4520618 734.7 46.80 118 -60 23.0 28.0 5.0 1,023
------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-351 719194 4520517 736.0 106.25 118 -60 3.0 6.0 4.0 418
25.0 28.0 3.0 281
34.0 49.0 15.0 458
57.0 59.0 2.0 492
63.0 72.0 9.0 341
77.0 79.0 2.0 537
82.0 94.0 12.0 808
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-352 719277 4520614 738.1 45.50 360 -90 No significant intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------------------------------------
RTD-353 719162 4520614 723.4 28.55 360 -90 No significant intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------------------------------------
RTD-354 719231 4520639 728.6 39.45 360 -90 1.0 2.0 1.0 260
7.0 17.0 10.0 900
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-355 719231 4520639 728.6 32.15 360 -90 1.0 17.0 16.0 1,079
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------- ------- -------- --------
RTD-356 719423 4520895 724.0 68.50 28 -60 8.0 9.0 1.0 270
12.0 19.0 7.0 663
23.0 30.0 7.0 451
RTD-357 719130 4520291 750.5 20.50 360 -90 No significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------------------------------------
RTD-358 719369 4520089 754.4 20.00 360 -90 No significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------------------------------------
RTD-359 719400 4519800 744.6 20.00 360 -90 No significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------------------------------------
Alameda Drilling (e-grades only)
Drill Intersections
> 200ppm eU(3) O(8)
----------------------------------
Hole Easting Northing Elev. Depth Azim Dip From To Thick e-U(3)
ID O(8)
(m) (m) (m) (m) ( ( (m) (m) (m) (ppm)
) )
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------ ------- ------- --------
ASD-135 688954 4501653 733.0 43.75 30 -60 18.0 20.0 2.0 320
26.0 28.0 2.0 332
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------ ------- ------- --------
ASD-136 688895 4501738 731.0 42.35 30 -60 13.0 23.0 10.0 723
31.0 33.0 2.0 575
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------ ------- ------- --------
ASD-137 688750 4501787 728.0 64.35 30 -60 5.0 14.0 9.0 196
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------ ------- ------- --------
ASD-138 688644 4501805 726.0 41.25 30 -60 6.0 21.0 15.0 404
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------ ------- ------- --------
ASD-139 689147 4500675 727.0 39.70 250 -60 3.0 17.0 14.0 924
20.0 24.0 4.0 575
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------ ------- ------- --------
ASD-140 688975 4500651 725.0 90.65 360 -90 21.0 36.0 15.0 239
43.0 48.0 5.0 587
64.0 66.0 2.0 573
73.0 75.0 2.0 756
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------ ------- ------- --------
ASD-141 688915 4500614 723.0 89.85 250 -60 16.0 27.0 11.0 259
42.0 46.0 4.0 431
70.0 81.0 11.0 2,469
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ------ ------- ------- --------
ASD-142 688937 4500732 724.3 112.50 360 -90 20.0 28.0 8.0 251
41.0 48.0 7.0 283
96.0 98.0 2.0 476
------ ------- ------- --------
ASD-143 689028 4500819 733.8 130.15 360 -90 23.0 27.0 4.0 560
31.0 36.0 5.0 452
43.0 61.0 18.0 688
70.0 78.0 8.0 604
85.0 112.0 27.0 1,184
ASD-144 689204 4500831 744.5 76.45 283 -60 27.0 31.0 4.0 719
ASD-145 689745 4501520 749.0 25.75 360 -90 No Significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ----------------------------------
ASD-146 690029 4501290 749.0 21.65 360 -90 No Significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ----------------------------------
ASD-147 689404 4499490 734.0 20.10 360 -90 No Significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ----------------------------------
ASD-148 690004 4499990 747.0 15.50 360 -90 No Significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ----------------------------------
ASD-149 689757 4499510 739.0 20.50 360 -90 No Significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ----------------------------------
ASD-150 689300 4500060 743.0 20.00 360 -90 No Significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ----------------------------------
ASD-151 689631 4500704 743.0 20.20 360 -90 No Significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ----------------------------------
ASD-152 689968 4500531 743.0 20.60 360 -90 No Significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ----------------------------------
ASD-153 689458 4501780 743.0 20.80 360 -90 No Significant Intersection
--------- -------- --------- ------ ------- ----- ---- ----------------------------------
Notes:
1. All results based on down hole equivalent grades
2. Coordinates are in UTM Grid (ED1950 Zone 29N) and have been
measured by a DGPS (+/- 1m accuracy)
3. The mineralisation is hosted by metasediment, typically in
the first 90m below surface and is interpreted to be flat lying.
Thus reported intervals approximate true widths.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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