RTR (ASX) Ann: Mato Discovery Continues to Grow

Originally posted by salpetie: ↑

Mato - Sentinel and Google Earth.

More detail

Site work and drilling done October to perhaps early December 2023.
Reported drill holes from announcements and (rarely 736) plans.
Squares are mostly interpreted site prep scaled from Sentinel imagery with most making some sense for 100m spacing prepared for later infill. Given results to date most are likely to be drilled.

Source timelapse for Sentinel interp with this link to a recent cloud free image of the Mato area. [ DYOR if interested.]

Work begins in either late October or early November but is obscured by cloud cover till 9/11.
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One of my first thoughts was these intersections are deep and would mean strip ratios would likely be too high for an open pit operation here. Further the shallower intersections in the SW appear weak and patchy.

Depending on the ground conditions though, a room and pillar style of mining could be a better option.

With examples like the above (COD Preso p 9) and the caveat on ground conditions met then might be an option.

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Wondered what this paragraph might actually mean.

From data in announcements it is possible to come up with ESTIMATED DIPS for some sections and project these to surface.

EG for 786 and 787

Joining the mineralised (very weak) zones gives approximately 5 degree dip which matches surprisingly well with the above section and also earlier work to the east (716-718). Ignoring local minor faulting 4-6 degrees is a fair estimate.

Basic trigonometry gives the surface projection distance from the hole collars with a significant margin of error allowed for in the images below.

With the magenta zones I don't see much conflict with what BHP called Sweetwater Dolomite.

786/7 plots a bit further north though possibly within a margin of error.

Would have to ask why there is a discrepancy reported. Hopefully it is real and allows for a repeat of stratigraphy or another target.

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This is on 100% RTR ground.

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Underground is not going to work here, especially not room and pillar. Firstly the base of oxidation is not far above the intersections meaning that the mineralisation is also partly within weathered material. Geotechnically its a no-no. You also need very high grades to offset the relatively low mining rates and high mining cost, because you're essentially mining the orebody with a Jumbo. It's slow as f$$k.

And because room and pillar mining is slow and inefficient, it would not produce the high tonnages required to make the project economic. An operation here needs a huge mill and massive tonnes to make sense. It's called room and pillar because you need to leave pillars behind. And in a flattish orebody, those pillars are going to be ore. So leaving 30% of the ore behind in pillars just further kills the economics.

An open pit would indeed be a high strip ratio, but it's not just about the strip ratio, it's about the operational cash flow and risk. With flat orebodies the project would be cash flow negative until first ore is reached, and with the amount of overburden this could stretch into years. Financiers take a dim view of a project that has capex of probably over a billion to develop that isn't even going to be cashflow positive for years. It's really not a palatable combination.