Wednesday 19 April 2006
MiningNews.net
By Michael Vaughan

COMPASS Resources has all but achieved its aim of having enough material at its $A40 million Browns oxide polymetallic project in the Northern Territory to underpin a 10-year operation after bumping up the resource tonnage by 40%.

Compass, whose offices are based in New South Wales, says consultants Knox Partners used "the latest version of Gemcom software" to recalculate the oxide resources at Area 55, a deposit 3km west of Browns.

The result was the reclassification of some of the sulphide material at Area 55 as oxide material, increasing the oxide resource to 5.48 million tonnes grading 0.78% copper, 0.14% cobalt and 0.15% nickel.

At the Browns deposit, the results of 62 drill holes completed in 2005 were included, bumping the resource up to 2.64Mt grading 1.02% copper, 0.12% cobalt and 0.1% nickel.

This leaves the global resource – incorporating the Browns, Area 55 and Mount Fitch deposits – at 9.37Mt grading 0.82% copper, 0.14% cobalt and 0.14% nickel.

Contained metal in the resource is 77,000t of copper, 13,500t of cobalt and 13,400t of nickel.

Compass has been targeting a 10Mt resource base in order to provide a decade's worth of feed for the 1Mtpa plant being built at Browns.

The company has indicated a resource recalculation for Mt Fitch and a maiden resource estimate for the Browns East prospect are both in the pipeline, likely pushing the global resource over the 10Mt mark.

Construction at Browns is due to start shortly, with first production expected by the end of the year.

A 12-month feasibility study into the development of the larger sulphide resources at Browns started at the beginning of the year. The company is targeting a 2Mtpa operation.

Shares in Compass were up 15c (6%) at $2.65 in midday trade.