re: new order platinum rights/article AIM gets RSA rights to...

re: new order platinum rights/article AIM gets RSA rights to explore
Michael Quinn
Wednesday, March 22, 2006

AIM Resources has been given the thumbs up for exploration at its Mokopane nickel platinum project after South African authorities approved the application for conversion of the old order prospecting right into the so-called "New Order Platinum Rights" required for work to be carried out.

The new prospecting rights relate to mining legislation introduced in 2002 requiring so-called "black economic empowerment" parties to hold 15% of a project within five years and 26% within 10 years.

No current BEE partner was disclosed by AIM for Mokopane, which comprises 960 hectares of predominantly open space on the northern outskirts of the Mokopane Township.

MiningNews.net was unable to reach AIM's Africa-bound managing director Marc Flory.

The project comprises five known mineralised areas with 15,330m of exploration drilling having concentrated mainly on the most southern area.

Snowden Mining Industry Consultants have reviewed the past exploration data and previous resource estimates and estimated a JORC-compliant Inferred Resource (at a zero cut-off grade) of 39.7 million tonnes grading 0.146% nickel, 0.085% copper, 0.22 grams per tonne platinum and 0.33gpt palladium.

The company said metallurgical test work completed by Mintec in the early 1990s on a bulk sample and drill core from the southern anomaly, indicated acceptable recoveries for the main valuable contained metals.

Just under two years ago AIM exercised an option to acquire Mokopane at a then value of $A4.3 million.

Mokopane is immediately south of Robert Friedland's African Mineral's project – and along strike from Anglo Platinum's 350,000 ounce Sandloot PGM operation – and was sold by Thabex Exploration via subsidiary Platinexco.

AIM's main focus in more recent times has been its Perkoa zinc project in Burkina Faso. A recently completed bankable feasibility study indicated Perkoa project would cost in the order of $US72.5 million to develop and would produce around 116,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate per annum over a 14-year mine life.

Shares in AIM closed up 0.5c at 14c Wednesday.

Thanks MiningNews.net

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