News: Malagasy Minerals drilling for graphite in Madagascar

Malagasy Minerals (ASX:MGY) has started a maiden drilling program to test four priority targets at its Maniry Graphite Project in Madagascar.

The graphite prospectivity of the region has been established by the discovery of the large, high-quality Molo Graphite Deposit by Energizer Resources (TSE:EGZ).

In March, Malagasy sold its 25% interest in Molo to Energizer for an initial C$400,000 and 2.5 million EGZ shares. It can also receive up to C$1.7 million on achievement of milestones as well as a1.5% Net Smelter Return on all production.

Madagascar is a hugely under explored, highly prospective developing nation with a pro-mining and stable, democratically elected Government.

Major infrastructure programs have been undertaken for key roads and ports.

The Maniry Project is located in southern Madagascar, a major graphite province.

It is located within the Proterozoic Ampanihy Graphite Domain - a series of highly metamorphosed graphitic schists and gneiss’s formed during the East African Orogeny.

Crucially, large anorthositic intrusions present within the sequence created the structural framework, ‘pressure shadows’, that allowed the graphite to concentrate into thickened lenses.

Younger granitic and porphyritic intrusions have been responsible for localised significant upgrading of mineralisation.


Maniry Exploration

The final program of detailed mapping and systematic rock chip sampling at the wholly-owned Maniry Graphite Project had identified multiple, new extensive zones of high-grade graphite mineralisation.

Exploration has defined at least 34 large-scale zones of prominently outcropping graphite mineralisation over an area of 6.5 kilometres by 2.5 kilometres.

Additional targets have been identified and will be advanced at an appropriate time.

Individual lenses have strike extensions of up to 1.8 kilometres and can attain widths of up to 350 metres.

The recent sampling program has returned results up to 48.9% carbon whilst previous sampling has returned values as high as 50.78% carbon.

Importantly 59% of the samples are over a grade of 8% carbon.

Previously completed petrological analysis of selected samples has confirmed the high quality nature of the graphite.

The graphite flake size is generally >0.7mm with some material as coarse as several millimetres. The graphite is largely free from inclusions of other minerals

Drilling will test the Razafy, Ivan, Haja and Fitia targets.

This seeks to:

- Provide a diagnostic test of the thickness and geometry of the lenses to confirm and validate the results from the surface sampling and mapping;
- Provide unbiased samples for assay and determine the nature and geological association of the mineralisation; and
- Highlight the area most likely to deliver a JORC compliant resource in the shortest time period.

The program is expected to be completed by early to mid-December 2014.

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