LONDON (Alliance News) - Amur Minerals Corp on Thursday provided the first glimpse into its planned work programme for the Kun Manie nickel copper sulphide project in Russia in 2016 as large amounts of equipment continue to be delivered to the site to support its development.
Equipment that Amur has purchased to progress the project and double its drilling capacity has recently been delivered to, or is currently being delivered to, its Verkhnezeisk base station and will now be transported to the project site over the ice road in March of this year.
That will allow the company to rapidly expand the resource, define additional reserves, and acquire additional key information required for the definitive feasibility study, with Amur aiming to drill 15,000 metres during 2016.
The 2016 drill programme will be one of Amur's most active periods since acquiring the asset as it looks to accelerate development to build on the otherwise very slow progress made over the last 11 to 12 years.
On top of the drilling equipment, Amur has also acquired equipment to assist with the construction of necessary roads and to allow the company to prepare the drill pad. Amur also said the fuel required to conduct operations over the year, totalling 240.0 tonnes, will be delivered to its base station by rail, as Amur takes advantage of the fall in oil prices to make a saving.
Two dozers that were fabricated in the last quarter of 2015 also are on their way to Russia where they will join an excavator and a rock breaker before they are all shipped to the base station by rail.
Amur has already received the spare parts for the two new dozers and the three existing dozers on site, and the new rig, alongside spare parts and drill supplies, have also been delivered.
A 25 tonne crane mounted to a truck has also been delivered to the base station, and a 10 tonne fuel truck has been purchased to increase the total fuel truck fleet to three, alongside a 10 tonne ural dump truck, which are all in transit to the base station.
Two new diesel fuelled generators have been delivered to support the upcoming drill programme, and an additional vehicle has been purchased to improve the efficiency of transporting staff and samples around the site. New housing units have been brought to support the increase in staff during the drill programme.
"To advance the definitive feasibility study as swiftly as possible, the company has taken the decision to increase the field capabilities by doubling the drilling capacity through the purchase of a new drill rig and necessary support equipment to allow full utilisation of the enhance drilling capacities," said Amur.
Amur is hoping to upgrade its existing inferred resources at Kun Manie into indicated resources through its 2016 programme, whilst also searching for new mineralisation in the area.
To put the size of the programme into perspective, the 15,000 metres Amur plans to drill over five months in 2016 compares to the 37,443 metres drilled over the entire past 11 to 12 years at the nickel project.
Amur has identified two targets to drill, but said both targets need 15,000 metres of drilling each, meaning the miner will only be focusing on one of those targets this year. Amur is waiting for a resource update before deciding whether to drill the Maly Kurumkon/Flangovy target or the Kubuk target.
"Criteria will include consideration of the grade distribution and its resource classification, metallurgical recovery and projected profitability per tonne of ore. The [results of the update] are expected to be available in advance of activation of the winter ice road in March allowing for mobilisation to the preferred drill target," said Amur.
Once the target has been chosen, Amur plans to provide a more detailed operating plan for 2016, including an update on the longer-term plan for Kun Manie and the development of the infrastructure.
"We have made significant progress in the build up to the 2016 field programme and geared up for the implementation of data acquisition and development of our Kun-Manie nickel copper sulphide project," said Chief Executive Robin Young.
"Our decision to double our drilling and earth moving abilities demonstrates our confidence and we fully intend to advance the definitive feasibility study as rapidly as possible. Importantly, we have the financial resources to implement our strategy and remain on track, going against the current trend of the mining industry," he added.
Amur shares were trading up 5.6% to 6.23 pence per share on Thursday morning.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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