CAMEC and Fluorspar
CAMEC has a 51% controlling interest in the Doornhoek Fluorite Project located less than 10km from the Sallies Witkop fluorspar mine in South Africa. The properties were explored in detail in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Esso Minerals and Armco Bronne. Their results indicated that the deposit is potentially the world's largest and highest grade fluorspar deposit, containing in excess of 50Mt at an average grade exceeding 20% CaF2.
Geosearch International Ltd is undertaking a 2,000m drilling programme to confirm historical results. A good correlation between the new and historical data will place international mineral and mining consultancy group RSG Global, who are managing the project, in a position to classify the resource in accordance with the Samrec and or JORQ codes of practice, and to model the ore body for mine planning purposes.
Of the three 'ore zones' the lowermost horizon is the richest in terms of consistency and thickness, ranging from 2m to 14m thick, with the best 4m interval grading 43.5% CaF2. In general, thicker reefal sections were found to contain better grade fluorite mineralization. In addition to the totals for the areas investigated, Esso further estimated reserves for seven sub-areas or pods, numbered A to G. A further calculation was made for this cluster using 2.2m mining height, a 20% cut-off for Pod A and 25% cut-off for pods B and C. The result was 12.9Mt of indicated reserves at a grade of 29.18% CaF2.
By reducing the CaF2 cut-off grade to 10%, and using a minimum 2m mining width, Esso calculated the ore tonnages and grades for pods A, B, C and D only as outlined in Table 2 below. These are non JORC compliant:
| 10% CaF2 Cut-off Grade and Minimum 2m Mining Height for Pods A, B, C, and D | |||
| Category | Width (m) | Tons | CaF2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 9.12 | 30,564,000.00 | 18.96 |
| Inferred | 4.25 | 17,644,000.00 | 16.13 |
| Total and Average | 7.34 | 48,208,000.00 | 17.92 |
The project has a potential mine life far in excess of 50 years, and is expected to fall within the lower quartile cost producer giving it the ability to withstand fluctuations in market conditions.
