HIGHLIGHTS• Major increase in inferred resource at Main Zone...

HIGHLIGHTS
• Major increase in inferred resource at Main Zone Deposit – quadrupled to
330Mt at 18.9% P2O5
• Minemakers now has Australia’s biggest phosphate resource: combined
with the Arruwurra Deposit it totals 461Mt
• Focus now on early start, Stage 1 Direct Shipping Ore operation
• Beneficiation project planned as Stage 2 operation
• Ongoing studies on Direct Shipping Ore indentify capital costs of AU$75 -
$100M and operating costs of about AU$150 per tonne
• Targeting first production in about a year

Minemakers Limited (ASX: MAK) is pleased to announce a major resource upgrade of the
Main Zone Deposit at its Wonarah Phosphate Project in the Northern Territory.
The Main Zone Deposit resource estimate has more than quadrupled from 72Mt @ 23%
P2O5 (previous operator resource estimate) to 330Mt at 18.9% P2O5 at a 15% P2O5 lower
grade cut-off. This Inferred Mineral Resource has been compiled in accordance with JORC
Code (2004) guidelines.
In combination with the Arruwurra Deposit (131Mt @ 18.6% P2O5 at a 15% P2O5 lower grade
cut-off), the total Inferred Mineral Resource estimate for the Wonarah Project is now 461Mt,
making Wonarah easily the largest known phosphate resource in Australia. Neither of the
deposits has been closed off by drilling and the size of the resources positions the Company
for an accelerated development of the Wonarah Project.
Minemakers’ Managing Director, Andrew Drummond, said:
“The Company is now targeting an early start Stage 1 Direct Shipping Ore operation,
with first production in about a year.”
“These latest results give us great confidence with our project development over the
next year and we now clearly have a deposit base on which we can build a major
operation,” said Mr Drummond.
“Metallurgical and chemical testwork is ongoing, but to date has been positive and has
now encouraged us to focus on a Direct Shipping Ore operation in the first instance,
with construction of a more costly beneficiation operation at a later date.”
“This would allow Minemakers to start generating cashflow at an early date, a distinct
advantage given the difficulties in international debt and equity markets.”
Infill drilling at Arruwurra is almost complete and an infill programme for the Main Zone
Deposit at Wonarah is being designed for earliest practicable start in 2009.
Final cost estimates for Direct Shipping Ore will be determined in the light of the current and
planned drill programmes and upon consequent testwork on sample material. A decision on
whether initial production will be from either or both of the Main Zone Deposit (higher grade,
but deeper and chemically different) or the Arruwurra Deposit, will be made after the
testwork. Studies to date indicate order of magnitude costs for Direct Shipping Ore
operations are as follows:
• On-site capital (including village, borefield, airfield,
Roads) AU$75 - AU$100M
• Operating (including mining, crushing and
screening costs and all freight of product
to a ship’s hold in Darwin) AU$150/t
RESOURCES
Coffey Mining Pty Ltd has estimated for the Main Zone Deposit, Inferred Mineral Resources
at 15% P2O5 lower grade cut-off totalling 330Mt at 18.9% P2O5, within distinct lithological
sub-divisions areas as follows:
Lithological Subdivision Tonnage
(Mt)
P2O5 Grade
(%)
Mudstone Phosphorite 221 19.1
Chert Breccia Phosphorite 91 17.2
Transitional Phosphorite 18 25.3
TOTAL 330 18.9
Including the Arruwurra Deposit, resources are (all Inferred category):
Deposit Tonnage
(Mt)
P2O5 Grade
(%)
Main Zone Deposit 330 18.9
Arruwurra Deposit 131 18.6
TOTAL 461 18.8
The Wonarah Phosphate Project can be compared to the only other Australian phosphate
deposits with published JORC Code compliant resource estimates as follows:
Company Phosphate Resource Category in P2O5
Inferred Indicated Measured Total
Incitec-Pivot(1) 40Mt @ 20.1% 26.8Mt @ 23.1% 64Mt @ 25.4% 130.3Mt @ 23.3%
Arafura Resources(2) 12.8Mt @ 12.2% 13.4Mt @ 13.4% 5.1Mt @ 13.5% 30.3Mt @ 12.9%
Minemakers 461Mt @ 18.8% - - 461Mt @ 18.8%
Notes: (1) Sources: WMC Resources Annual Report 2004, and Register of Australian Mining
2007/2008 has total resources at June 2006 of 127Mt @ 23.3% P2O5.
(2) Arafura Resources Annual Report, 2008.
The grade of the resource estimate is a function of the cut-off grade applied. At a 20% P2O5
lower grade cut-off, Inferred resources in both Wonarah’s deposits change to a total of
131Mt @ 22.8% P2O5.
PROGRESS AND PLANNING
Testwork is on-going, but results to date are sufficiently encouraging to cause Minemakers
to focus its efforts on the potential to produce Direct Shipping Ore as the first marketable
product from Wonarah. At a time of difficulty in the world’s capital markets, it is preferable to
adopt a low capital and low operating cost strategy, and then to apply early cash flow from
the Direct Shipping Ore to a subsequent construction of a beneficiation plant which will be
the operation’s long term production centre.
This strategy would minimise capital needs and be the least dilutive to Minemakers’ current
shareholders.
In furtherance of this strategy, the following work is under way or planned.
1. Arruwurra Deposit
An infill RC and diamond drilling programme is in progress and should be finished
shortly. It aims to:
• Increase the drill density and so improve the confidence in the northern part of
the deposit where mineralisation is the shallowest and should have the lowest
operating costs. The objective is to define Indicated and perhaps Measured
Mineral Resources to allow mine planning, Ore Reserve declaration and
submission of a Notice of Intent to mine.
• Provide diamond drill core samples of potential Direct Shipping Ore for marketing
purposes and for verification that that production route is viable.
• Provide diamond drill core for further testwork to characterise Direct Shipping Ore
and to evaluate beneficiated product routes for the whole of the deposit.
2. Main Zone Deposit
Planning will be completed before Christmas for RC and diamond infill drilling of the
northern part of the Main Zone Deposit – where the higher grade areas seem more
extensive and are relatively closer to surface.
Overall aims of the drilling will be similar to the Arruwurra programme. Minemakers
will then have comparative data and be able to determine which of the two deposits
should preferentially be developed first.
3. Beneficiation Route
Testwork is continuing and will complete the determination of which deposit is better
suited for the early source of beneficiable material and what is the appropriate design
for a beneficiation plant.
4. Capital and Operating Cost Estimates
To date, efforts have concentrated on beneficiation plant design and costing.
However, this is very much work in progress as new metallurgical data becomes
available. Minemakers is not yet in a position to release reliable preliminary cost
estimates for a beneficiation plant. They will be provided in due course.
For Direct Shipping Ore, costs will be dependent upon whether the source will be the
Arruwurra Deposit (closer to surface and so cheaper to mine; further from the Barkly
Highway and so more costly to freight; but a lesser grade so probably less valuable;
and each with a different chemistry) or the Main Zone Deposit. It may be necessary
for provision of crushing and screening to improve product quality and this would be
undertaken on a contract basis for the initial stages of the operation. Based on the
costing work undertaken to date on the beneficiation plant, Minemakers has
extracted the following order of magnitude cost for a Direct Shipping Ore operation:
• Capital (on-site and including village, roads, airfield,
borefields and other infrastructure) AU$75M to AU$100M
• Operating (inclusive of mining, crushing if applicable,
on-site administration, all freight and re-handling to
a ship’s hold at the Port of Darwin) AU$150/t