Bannerman Discovers Near-Surface Mineralisation Beyond Planned Pit Outline
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PERTH, AUSTRALIA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/24/12 -- Bannerman Resources Limited (TSX: BAN)(ASX: BMN)(NSX: BMN) ('Bannerman' or the 'Company') is pleased to report significant new drilling results from the recently completed RC drilling program in the Onkelo area of the Etango Uranium Project in Namibia. The full release is available on the Company's website at www.bannermanresources.com and on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
Highlights:
-- Mine-grade mineralisation discovered at the Onkelo West Prospect
adjacent to the planned Etango open pit.
-- Potential to expand and deepen the pit design and to extend the mine
life.
-- Broad uranium intercepts returned include (metres downhole, U3O8 parts
per million, see Table 1 for reporting parameters):
- 58m @ 105ppm U3O8 from 38m
- 24m @ 171ppm U3O8 from 79m
- 14m @ 194ppm U3O8 from 212m
- 3m @ 426ppm U3O8 from 88m
- 16m @ 144ppm U3O8 from 65m
- 11m @ 156ppm U3O8 from 58m
-- Discovery greatly expands the exploration potential to the west of the
planned pit for some 4km to the southwest.
-- Follow-up drilling is now being planned to continue testing the down-dip
and down-strike extensions of this newly identified mineralisation.
All holes in the drilling program returned encouraging assay results and suggest the possibility of expanding the existing Mineral Resource estimate and the designed pit boundary to the west. The results of the program received to date are listed in Table 1 of the Attachment to this release.
The zone targeted by the program is immediately adjacent to the Onkelo area at the northern end of the Etango Deposit and all holes were drilled within 200 metres of the open pit design boundaries (Figures 1 and 2). The program, comprising 8 holes for 1,608 metres with a maximum drilling depth of 264 metres downhole, followed up on field work undertaken in the September 2011 quarter.
This initial field work involved the collection of approximately 100 spectrometer readings taken randomly over the outcropping granitic rock known locally as Alaskite. Many of these readings indicated the Alaskite to be mineralised at surface which was then followed up in this most recent drilling program.
All holes in the program intersected mineralisation, most with a tenor similar to those within the designed pit boundary. The intersections have indicated the possibility of down-dip extensions of the previously defined mineralised zones (Figures 3 and 4) and give encouragement for potential expansions of the Mineral Resource to the west. The program also indicated down dip extensions of mineralisation of the outcropping Alaskite bodies to the west of Onkelo, making them very accessible to mine.
There is potential for this newly identified mineralisation also to extend to the south along the western flank of the known Etango Deposit, supported by results of the recent spectrometer survey which extend southwards to the Oshiveli area of the Etango Deposit (Figures 1 and 2). A further 2.8km to the south, within the Anomaly A area of the Etango Deposit, a previous drilling program was extended beyond the known deposit and also encountered mineralisation (Figure 5), suggesting the Etango Deposit is wider than previously thought within each of the Onkelo, Oshiveli and Anomaly A areas.
With the possible opportunity to expand the open pit design to the west, the latest drilling also opens up the potential of economically deepening the designed pit to target the down-dip extension of the Chuos-Khan Formation contact (Figures 3-5) where the highest grade mineralisation is typically found in the Etango Deposit. The Etango Deposit is open at depth as a result of much of the drilling to date being limited to approximately 200-225 metres vertically below surface.
Due to the exciting nature of this discovery and the potential to extend the life of mine, Bannerman is now planning a drilling program to further test the possible western extensions of the Etango Deposit.
CEO, Len Jubber said: 'These are important and exciting drilling results. They show significant potential to further grow the Etango Uranium Deposit. As the Company's drilling programs have primarily been focused on delineating resources to support the Definitive Feasibility Study, due for completion at the end of March 2012, it is now time for the team to expand the regional approach to exploration. This approach will initially focus on identifying areas to extend the known deposit with the objective of increasing the mine life to well in excess of 20 years.'
To view the Figures associated with this release, visit: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/bmn124_F1-5.pdf.
About Bannerman - Bannerman Resources Limited is an emerging uranium development company with interests in two properties in Namibia, a southern African country considered to be a premier uranium mining jurisdiction. Bannerman's principal asset is its 80%-owned Etango Uranium Project situated southwest of Rio Tinto's Rossing uranium mine and to the west of Paladin Energy's Langer-Heinrich mine. Etango is one of the world's largest undeveloped uranium deposits. Bannerman is focused on the feasibility assessment and development of a large open pit uranium operation at Etango. More information is available on Bannerman's website at www.bannermanresources.com.
Regulatory Disclosures:
Bannerman Resources Limited ('Bannerman') manages its drilling and assaying activities in accordance with industry standard quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures. Samples are collected by Bannerman personnel and prepared in accordance with specified procedures at the relevant assay laboratories. Drill samples from the Onkelo West were analysed for uranium by the Bureau Veritas Laboratory in Swakopmund, Namibia using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP/MS) method. Bureau Veritas is an International Laboratory Group with operations in 140 countries, including Ultratrace and Amdel in Australia. Assay QA/QC involves the use of assay standards (sourced from African Mineral Standards (AMIS) in Johannesburg, made from Bannerman pulp rejects and cross-checked through umpire laboratories for which the round robin reports are available), field duplicates, blanks and barren quartz flushes. A third party 'umpire' laboratory (Genalysis in Perth) is used to cross-check and validate approximately 5% of the assay results in accordance with standard procedures. Sample coarse rejects are retained and approximately 5% of samples are re-submitted for further assay verification. All sample pulps, half-core and rock-chip samples are retained at Bannerman's Goanikontes Warehouse Facility (GWS) on site.
The information in this release that relates to the exploration results of the projects owned by Bannerman is based on information compiled by Mr Martinus Prinsloo, Exploration Superintendent of Bannerman. Mr Prinsloo is a Member and a Chartered Professional of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, a Recognised Professional Organisation by the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee, who has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and types of deposits under consideration and to the activity which is being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' and as a Qualified Person for purposes of National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators. Mr Prinsloo consents to the inclusion in the release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Bannerman has not completed feasibility studies on its projects. Accordingly, there is no certainty that such projects will be economically successful. Mineral Resources that are not Ore Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Certain disclosures in this release, including management's assessment of Bannerman's plans and projects, constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to Bannerman's operation as a mineral development company that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. The following are important factors that could cause Bannerman's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: fluctuations in uranium prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, recovery rates, production estimates and estimated economic return; general market conditions; the uncertainty of future profitability; and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. Full descriptions of these risks can be found in Bannerman's various statutory reports, including its Annual Information Form available on the SEDAR website, sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Bannerman expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
ABN 34 113 017 128
Contacts:
Bannerman Resources Limited
Len Jubber
Chief Executive Officer
Perth, Western Australia
+61 (0)8 9381 1436
www.bannermanresources.com
Bannerman Resources Limited
Tim Haughan
Investor Relations Manager
Perth, Western Australia
+61 (0)8 9381 1436
thaughan@bannermanresources.com.au
Spyros Karellas
Investor Relations Representative
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
+1 416 800 8921
spyros@pinnaclecapitalmarkets.ca