re: Ann: Green Light for Silver Superpit at N... An Article from...

re: Ann: Green Light for Silver Superpit at N... An Article from Proactive Investors Australia on today's news release.

MacPhersons Resources (ASX: MRP) plans to go ahead with the mining of its Nimbus Silver-Zinc-Gold Project after pit optimisation studies on the recently upgraded resource confirmed the original two open pits at Nimbus can be merged into a single silver superpit.

This is a significant milestone for the company and the Nimbus project still has more exploration upside with mineralisation open along strike and at depth.

This development has paved the way for the release of mining contracting tender documentation for the Western Australian Project that is located 10 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie’s Super Pit gold mine.

The pit optimisation studies were carried out on the recently announced 46% upgrade in the JORC Resource to 4.4 million tonnes at 129 grams per tonne (g/t) for 18.3 million silver equivalent ounces.

Morrie Goodz, managing director, commented: “The pit optimisation studies all support a single superpit model, which is what we predicted when the new mineralisation zone at Lens 3 was intersected.

“The drilling results, resource upgrade, and new pit model support the directors decision to approve the plant expansion and the new Merrill-Crowe plant scheduled for delivery in October 2013.”

Various optimisation scenarios are still being modelled, however all of the options have the new proposed operation being a single superpit of around 900 metres in length by 500 metres wide and 205 metres deep.

The first pit is proposed to deliver 8.6 million ounces silver-equivalent (6.6 million ounces silver plus 2 million ounces silver equivalent from gold-zinc credits.

It will mine 1.5 million tonnes at 179g/t silver equivalent (137g/t silver plus gold-zinc credits).

Measured and Indicated Resources continue along strike and beneath the pits and are anticipated to support further extensions to the silver superpit in future mine planning scenarios.

The pit cutback in year one will have four shallow pits to focus on the oxide ore and the new gold zone and Lens 4, and then in year two will commence the merging of the pits as the primary ore is developed.