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- Australian Vanadium (AVL) has completed its second resource infill drilling program at The Australian Vanadium Project
- A total of 30 reverse circulation drill holes were completed, successfully targeting the high-grade vanadium magnetite horizon
- Drilling targets the current inferred resource, converting it to an indicated resource
- AVL has ended the day 10 per cent in the red, with shares trading for 0.9 cents each
Australian Vanadium (AVL) has successfully completed its second resource infill drilling program at the Australian Vanadium Project.
This new drilling has improved the existing drill spacing from 400 metres to 140 metres and priority holes were based on the thickness of the high-grade zone, vanadium oxide grade, and the magnetic susceptibility response.
Drilling was successful in identifying the target vanadium mineralisation and confirming the continuity of the unique massive-magnetite zones at the project.
Located 43 kilometres southeast of Meekatharra in Western Australia, The Australian Vanadium Project consists of 11 tenements and covers 260 square kilometres.
The project is one of the highest grade vanadium projects currently being developed in the world.
Between December 10 and 17, 30 reverse circulation holes were drilled for 2336 metres. Drill productivity was high, with an average meterage of 292 metres per shift.
This phase two drill program focused on the southern blocks of the 11.5-kilometre strike length.
Blocks eight and 16 were the focus of drilling which was designed to infill existing drill holes to 140×30 metre drill spacings, with a view to increase the mineral resources category from inferred to indicated.
The mineral resource update is progressing well and will incorporate new structural knowledge and an estimation of magnetic susceptibility.
A further update will be undertaken to include the results from the phase two drill program which is planned to be released during Q1 2020.
“The quality of the recent drill programs reflects the AVL team’s increasing knowledge and understanding of the ore body. Being able to define more areas where there is shallow and highly magnetic mineralisation nearer surface will create options for our mining optimisation studies,” AVL Managing Director Vincent Algar commented.
“The drilling program was dynamic, with holes prioritised based on the width, dip and magnetic response on a hole by hole basis. This resulted in two separate new areas of over 400 metres of strike length, both with good magnetic responses,” he added.
The objective of these drill programs is to significantly increase the potential mine life and scale of the projects to beyond the current 17-year life.
It is to also enable better-informed decisions on the optimal scale and mine life of the project.
AVL ended the day 10 per cent in the red with shares trading for 0.9 cents apiece.
