I’m having another go at this post. I madea mess of it yesterday and Hot Copper have not yet got round to deleting it forme. This one I’m pasting from MS Word and Hot Copper has a few trouble withword spacing.
Do you remember this graphic from this recent ASX release: https://talgagroup.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/app/uploads/2024/05/16090809/20240516ExplorationTarget_ASX.pdf
All those graphics and charts reminding us of Talga's journey at Vitangi
I would like to add another couple. An earlier one on the LEFT and an extensionto the “ET model (leapfrog)” on the right
LEFT graphic discussion
This would go back 2 billion years into pre-history as per this Talga producedvideo. It was created after Talga commissioned the CSIRO to analyse and reporttheir Swedish samples of graphite ore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3-GRuNGZYI&t=70s
For those who have not viewed this video,the Swedish graphite seems rather unique. It’s carbon comes not from ancientplant and vegetable matter, but from bacteria laid down in a much earlierperiod. Some 2 billion years ago.
The earth’s atmosphere at that time was CO2and this was the staple diet of bacteria living in shallow lakes and seas.These bacteria feasted on the carbon and excreted the oxygen. At the end oftheir individual life cycles, these carbon based bacteria dropped to the seafloor. Eventually their food supply of CO2 was so heavily depleted that thebacteria died of starvation. But not before leaving a rich layer of near purecarbon beneath the sea. This layer has for some 2 billion years beensandwiched, twisted, sliced, upended, compressed and cooked until today we seeit in Talga’s right hand graphic that they display in many of theirpresentations
RIGHTgraphic deciphered
With a little imagination you can visualizethe graphite seam as being like a liquorish strap on its edge and wound into ahuge circle. From the various Talga presentations and reports I have estimated thisliquorish strap to be approximately 20-40m thick, some 150km long and precisely200m deep.
How does this liquorish strap relate to theoriginal sea floor deposit of bacteria?
Certainly its thickness comes from the depthof the bacteria on the sea floor
The 150km length would likely be one of thedimensions of that ancient sea.
What about that precise figure of 200mdepth? That doesn’t seem to relate and an ancient sea of 150km by 200m doesn’tseem right. Some possible explanations:
·The best 5 surface targets were found at Nunasvaara, South, East and North together with Niska South and North and were subjected to extensive drilling. This is mandated and policed by the ASX in order to produce a valid JORC estimate of the resource. Australian mining companies have reputation.
·I searched through a bundle of Talga’s drill reports and found that they came up with a precise seam width (20-40m) but were open north and south and open at depths below 200m.
·This could be that the drill couldn’t go any deeper or the onerous drilling costs >200m or perhaps because 200m is beyond the limit of an open pit mine.
So what might the depth of this liquorishstrap (seam) be? Could the ancient sea have been sized at 150km x 200m? We canassume that some/much of the depth will have been lost over the eons due tosurface soil erosion. Still, it is likely to be much beyond 200m and evenbeyond the economics of an underground mine.
Consider now, this latest mine studyreleased to the ASX and remembering the tonnages quoted must match up preciselywith Talga’s JORC compliant drill data and
https://talgagroup.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/app/uploads/2024/05/31071035/20240531MiningStudy_ASX.pdf
and refer to table 1 and figure 2
Table1 Total Vittangi Project Graphite Mineral Resources
Figure3 Vittangi LOM schedule at 600,000tpa mining rate.
But there has been a change of plan. Talgais now going underground and the JORC estimates that the ASX insists upon,cover only a minute fraction of that liquorish strap that represents the fullresource. Talga doesn’t want to waste money on unnecessary drilling. Anunderground mine just follows the trail both horizontally and vertically.
Think of termite navigation as they eataway through the choicest parts of your wooden house. Their navigation tools aretaste buds and a nose.
Think of the Kalgoorlie Super Pit whichdates back to 1893 and always has a 10-20 year projected life. In comparison, Talga’s150km graphite seam would be “a piece of cake”.
It is no surprise that Talga can afford a15% Cg cut off while the only graphite miners (outside of Sri Lanka) that can boast a top grade better than 15% are very few.
Pharvest! Please tell me I’m just having abad dream
(20min delay)