CRP
07/04/2014 11:09
GENERAL
REL: 1109 HRS Chatham Rock Phosphate Limited
GENERAL: CRP: Chatham Rock Phosphate: maiden JORC Resource defined
7 April 2014
Chatham Rock Phosphate: maiden JORC Resource defined
Highlights:
o Inferred Resources of 80 million m3 of phosphorite at an average grade of
290 kg/m3 for a contained 23.4 Mt of phosphorite
o Average thickness of the Mineral Resource is 0.2 m directly at the surface
of the sea floor
o Additional exploration potential is in the order of 40,000,000 m3 with 8 to
12 Mt of contained phosphorite at grades between 200 and 300 kg/m3
o The Mineral Resources are similar to earlier historical estimates
undertaken on the Chatham Rise
Chatham Rock Phosphate ("CRP") commissioned RSC Consulting Ltd ("RSC") to
undertake an independent Mineral Resource estimation study on its Chatham
Rise Phosphorite Project ("Project") and prepare a report ("the Report") to
comply with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results,
Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, 2012 Edition ("JORC 2012").
RSC Report study summary
The Project covers an area of seabed phosphorite nodules situated about 450
km offshore of the east coast of New Zealand at approximately 350 to 450 m
water depth (Figure 1).
CRP holds 100% of Mining Permit 55549 granted in December 2013, and the
Continental Shelf licence MPL 50270 granted in February 2010.The first term
of MPL 50270 was due to expire on 25 February 2014 and CRP submitted a
renewal application for a further four years in December 2013. Two
prospecting permit applications have been made for separate areas east and
west of the prospecting licence.
Royal Boskalis Westminster NV ("Boskalis"), is a technical partner in the
Project and holds a 17.6% shareholding of CRP.
The Chatham Rise phosphorite deposit occurs as a thin layer of
phosphate-bearing glauconitic sand with thicknesses typically ranging from 0
to 1 m below the sea floor. The sand layer consists of mainly silt and
sand-sized sediments, with phosphatised chalk nodules up to 15 cm in diameter
(Figure 2).
Phosphorite nodules were first discovered on the Chatham Rise in the 1950s by
a New Zealand Government survey. During the 1960s to 1980s several private
and government sponsored cruises explored the Chatham Rise and surrounding
seafloor area. The most extensive surveys were conducted by an agreement
between the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and
the West German Government on cruises by the German research vessels R.V.
Valdivia in 1978 and R.V. Sonne in 1981.
Figure 1: Chatham Rise Phosphorite Project Location.
The 1978 R.V. Valdivia cruise was the first intensive sampling and research
campaign conducted over the Chatham Rise and 655 samples from 689 attempts
were collected over a 300 km2 area in the west of the Project area. The
majority of the samples were collected using a large Van Veen-style grab of
0.12 m3 volume, weighing approximately 400 kg.
The 1981 R.V. Sonne cruise was the most comprehensive exploration effort to
assess the Chatham Rise phosphorite deposit. In addition to oceanographic,
meteorological and geophysical data, the cruise collected 19 hours of video
recordings of the sea floor as well as 519 sediment samples taken by a
pneumatic grab-sampler. The seafloor sediment samples collected on this
cruise are the most representative sample data collected on the Chatham Rise
and are considered to be of a high enough quality to include in a resource
estimation.
Since acquiring the licence in 2010, CRP has conducted six cruises in two
programmes in the Project area. The key tasks of the cruises were to validate
the previous work conducted on the Chatham Rise and collect further
geological, geotechnical, geophysical and environmental data. For phosphorite
grade estimation purposes the M.V. Tranquil Image cruise collected 55 samples
using a Van Veen grab. The R.V. Dorado Discovery conducted four cruises out
to the project area and collected 206 box core and grab samples.
Figure 2: Schematic cross-section of phosphorite-bearing sand zone (adapted
from CRP, 2012).
Chatham Rise Phosphorite Project Mineral Resource
A total of 80 million m3 at an average grade of 290 kg/m3 is classified as an
Inferred Mineral Resource at a cut-off grade of 100 kg/m3 for a total
contained 23.4 Mt of phosphorite (Table 1). The average thickness of the
resource is 0.20 m. There are no Resources classified in Indicated or
Measured categories. Details about the informing samples, sample methodology,
exploration and resource estimation process is shown in Appendix I.
Table 1 Statement of Mineral Resources (phosphorite) for Mining Permit 55549,
Chatham Rise. Estimates are rounded to reflect the level of confidence in
these resources at the present time.
See attached
Notes:
1. The Mineral Resource is reported in accordance with the JORC Code, 2012
edition
2. The Mineral Resource is contained within MP 55549
3. All resources have been rounded to the nearest 0.1 million tonnes
4. Ph kg/m3 is the weight of phosphorite per cubic metre
5. Contained Ph Mt is contained weight of phosphorite per million tonnes
6. Mineral Resource is reported at 100 kg/m3 cut-off grade
"RSC's analysis to date indicates that a potentially economically extractable
phosphorite Mineral Resource exists in the Project area. Several high-profile
sampling cruises, most independent from each other, have all identified
grades of economic interest within the same area. These cruises have been
well documented and specific knowledge on sampling systems has been retained
and included in this Report."
Exploration Potential
Exploration potential also exists within both MP 55549 and MPL 50270 (Figure
4, Table 2). Based on existing sampling data that did not make it into the
resource because of lower sample density or lower sample quality ranking
numbers, the exploration target within CRP's tenements is interpreted from
the existing sample information and area of sampling to be around 40,000,000
m3 with between 8 and 12 Mt of contained phosphorite at phosphorite grades
between 200 and 300 kg/m3.
Figure 4 Exploration Potential
See attached.
Recommendations
RSC recommends further seafloor sampling to be undertaken to both further
increase the confidence in the established Mineral Resource and extend the
boundaries of the resource, predominantly towards the west where currently
lower-quality Valdivia data indicate an exploration target of at least 5 Mt
phosphorite.
RSC recommends that additional sampling will increase confidence in the grade
and geology of the phosphorite deposit and may lead to an upgrade of the
existing Inferred Resource to Indicated Resources.
Commentary - Chris Castle, Managing Director
CRP Managing Director Chris Castle said the RSC Report significantly upgrades
the status of the Mineral Resource, and also identifies a further 8 - 12
million tonnes exploration potential. "This is currently excluded from the
23.4 million tonnes but is within the mining permit area and with further
sampling could be incorporated." There is also additional exploration
potential in the areas under application to the east (PPA 55967) and to the
west (PPA 55971) of the existing permit areas.
Mr Castle said the JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource estimation was
achieved through:
o extensive validation by RSC of the available historical sample data;
o the availability of more recent data gathered by CRP; and
o the collaboration with scientists who worked on the project more than 30
years ago to corroborate the historical data and sampling procedures.
"Our confidence that the exploration target extends into the neighbouring
ground under application is based on geological modelling carried out by
Kenex Knowledge Systems Ltd, our geological consultants, during the last
year. This potential, which will be tested and evaluated upon the grant of
the prospecting permit expected later this year, could add significantly to
the known phosphorite resource."
Contact Chris Castle on +64 21 55 81 85 or [email protected]
End CA:00249198 For:CRP Type:GENERAL Time:2014-04-07 11:09:07
