VANCOUVER, BC–(Marketwired – June 07, 2016) –
- Met-Chem identifies Measured and Indicated Resource of 9.7 Mt grading 98.6% SiO2
- Inferred Mineral Resource estimated at 4.6 Mt grading 98.6% SiO2
- Bulk sample grades 99.2% SiO2 and meets specification for ferrosilicon without beneficiation
- Upcoming PEA to incorporate selective quarrying of high quality silica zones
Rogue Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: RRS) (“Rogue” or the “Company”) is pleased to report its initial resource estimate on its 100% owned Silicon Ridge Project (the “Project”), located approximately 42 kilometres (“km”) north of Baie-Saint Paul, Québec, and 4 km northeast of Sitec’s operating silica mine. The mineral resource estimate prepared by Met-Chem Canada (“Met-Chem”), a division of DRA Americas, includes a pit constrained measured and indicated resource of 9.7 million tonnes (“Mt”) grading 98.6% SiO2 and an inferred resource of 4.6 Mt grading 98.6% SiO2. The technical report supporting this mineral resource estimate (the “Technical Report”) will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days.
The distribution of the high purity material along preferential zones oriented to the strike of the quartzite should allow for a quarry design that selectively targets the high purity material. This quarrying approach is designed to target the high quality sections within the deposit and will form the basis of the Met-Chem Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) study scheduled for completion in September.
“The resource estimate prepared by Met-Chem demonstrates the exceptional potential of the Silicon Ridge project and marks yet another significant milestone for Rogue,” said Sean Samson, President and CEO of Rogue Resources. “We have already identified a range of products that can be made out of our high quality silica and now have defined the size and grade of the deposit. I am confident with such a large resource we can focus on easily accessible, higher quality zones that can be selectively quarried and potentially be direct shipped to to end users with minimal processing or beneficiation. Permitting timelines will be finalized shortly and we continue to determine the economic potential of this resource by way of the PEA study.”
Resource Summary
The resource estimate, includes resources from 3 zones referred to as the South West, North East and Centre North zones, as summarized in the following table (Table 1). A significant portion of the estimate is derived from the South West Zone. All zones are open along strike and down dip and have potential for expansion.
The mineral resource for the Silicon Ridge Project incorporates assay results from 71 diamond drill holes totaling 11,822 metres (“m”) and from 510 m of surface channel samples. The estimate was prepared using a block model constrained with 3D wireframes of the principal mineralized domains. Values for SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2 and Fe2O3 were interpolated into blocks using Inverse Distance Squared (“ID2”). A preliminary open pit optimization algorithm was run on the estimated grade block model to constrain the resources and to support the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (“CIM”) requirement that Mineral Resources have ‘reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction’. Only mineralization contained within the preliminary pit shell has been included in the resource estimate.
| Table 1: Silicon Ridge Pit Constrained Resource Estimate | ||||||||||
| ALL ZONES | ||||||||||
| Tonnes (Mt) | SiO2(%) | TiO2(%) | Al2O3(%) | Fe2O3(%) | ||||||
| Measured | 3.2 | 98.61 | 0.061 | 0.556 | 0.101 | |||||
| Indicated | 6.5 | 98.60 | 0.062 | 0.564 | 0.122 | |||||
| Measured + Indicated | 9.7 | 98.60 | 0.062 | 0.561 | 0.115 | |||||
| Inferred | 4.6 | 98.64 | 0.062 | 0.532 | 0.131 | |||||
| SOUTH WEST ZONE | ||||||||||
| Tonnes (Mt) | SiO2(%) | TiO2(%) | Al2O3(%) | Fe2O3(%) | ||||||
| Measured | 2.4 | 98.60 | 0.061 | 0.560 | 0.101 | |||||
| Indicated | 3.9 | 98.60 | 0.062 | 0.576 | 0.109 | |||||
| Measured + Indicated | 6.3 | 98.60 | 0.061 | 0.570 | 0.106 | |||||
| Inferred | 2.5 | 98.70 | 0.061 | 0.544 | 0.096 | |||||
| NORTH EAST ZONE | ||||||||||
| Tonnes (Mt) | SiO2(%) | TiO2(%) | Al2O3(%) | Fe2O3(%) | ||||||
| Measured | 0.8 | 98.66 | 0.063 | 0.544 | 0.102 | |||||
| Indicated | 1.4 | 98.63 | 0.066 | 0.556 | 0.123 | |||||
| Measured + Indicated | 2.2 | 98.64 | 0.065 | 0.552 | 0.116 | |||||
| Inferred | 0.5 | 98.56 | 0.069 | 0.641 | 0.136 | |||||
| CENTRE NORTH ZONE | ||||||||||
| Tonnes (Mt) | SiO2(%) | TiO2(%) | Al2O3(%) | Fe2O3(%) | ||||||
| Measured | 0.001 | 98.31 | 0.047 | 0.589 | 0.150 | |||||
| Indicated | 1.2 | 98.56 | 0.061 | 0.535 | 0.163 | |||||
| Measured + Indicated | 1.2 | 98.56 | 0.061 | 0.535 | 0.163 | |||||
| Inferred | 1.6 | 98.56 | 0.060 | 0.479 | 0.183 | |||||
Notes:
- CIM definitions (May 10, 2014) were followed for classification of Mineral Resources.
- Cut-off grades of 98.1% SiO2, 0.8% Al2O3, 0.075% TiO2 and 0.24% Fe2O3.
- Density of 2.65 g/cm3.
- The resources are constrained by a Lersch Grossman (LG) optimized pit shell using MineSight software.
- LG pit shell defined using the following constraints:
- 50 degree slope
- Offset of 85m from lakes and wetlands
- Product sales price of $200/t and $100/t for high value and ferrosilicon, respectively
- Processing cost of $16.84/t and $45.84/t of feed for high value and ferrosilicon, respectively
- Mining cost of $6.73/t and a G&A cost of $2/t
(All pricing and costing will be refined for the PEA.)
- Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and have no demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by mining, processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and government factors (“Modifying Factors”).
- Numbers may not add due to rounding.
- Effective date of the resource estimate is June 7, 2016.
Bulk Sample Update
Dorfner ANZAPLAN (“ANZAPLAN”) has provided the company with the preliminary results from the crushing and optical sorting of the 1,500 kg bulk sample shipped to Germany earlier in Q2. The quartzite sample provided to ANZAPLAN for the bulk sample test work showed improved quality with less impurities compared to the previous drill core. After crushing and classification the material was already at ferrosilicon feedstock specifications. Table 2 summarizes the chemical composition of the bulk sample material by size fraction based upon XRF analyses.
| Table 2: Chemical analyses of fraction < 20 mm, together with calculated chemical composition of feed fraction and fractions 20 – 120 mm after crushing and grinding, composition are based on XRF analyses. | ||||||||||
| Size Fraction | SiO2 (wt%) |
Al2O3 (wt %) |
Fe2O3 (wt%) |
TiO2 (wt%) |
Mass (wt %) |
|||||
| Bulk Sample Feed 50 – 400 mm (calc.) | 99.2 | 0.41 | 0.012 | 0.04 | 100.0 | |||||
| Crushed Fraction 20 – 120 mm (calc.) | 99.2 | 0.40 | 0.011 | 0.04 | 89.4 | |||||
| Crushed Fraction <20 mm | 99.0 | 0.50 | 0.020 | 0.04 | 10.6 | |||||
The bulk sample was crushed and optically sorted to determine the amount of material that meets the specifications for high value silica products. The test work determined yield distributions when crushed of 89.4% of the material ranging in size from 20 to 120 mm, meeting the thresholds required for ferrosilicon quality and that 10.6% of the sample was <20 mm and meets the feedstock quality for further beneficiation to fulfill the requirements for certain glass, ceramics and fillers (see figure 1). Optical sorting resulted in a slight improvement in quality with some reduction in impurities and increased silica grades.
Figure 1: Yield distribution of Bulk Sample based on chemical consumption after optical sorting
This marks a significant improvement over the previous test work that focused on the quartzite as a whole (34.6% yield) and indicates to the Company that much higher yields qualifying for high value applications, including ferrosilicon and/or silicon metal, can be achieved by targeting higher purity zones within the deposit.
“ANZAPLAN has quantified the potential of mining material from selected spots within the resource and with more than 1.7 km of mineralization I know that we will be able to develop a compelling business case with high quality material drawn from areas within the deposits,” said Sean Samson, President and CEO of Rogue Resources. “I am really excited to see the options we develop for the PEA, as we look at the potential of selective mining, matching it to feedback we receive from our continuing discussions with potential buyers of different grade products.”
About Rogue Resources Inc.
Rogue is a mining company focused on generating positive cash flow. Not tied to any metal, it looks at rock value and good grade deposits that can withstand all stages of the metal price cycle. The current focus is Quebec’s Silicon Ridge Project. For more information visit www.rogueresources.ca.
About Met-Chem Canada.
Met-Chem, was established in 1969 as a consulting engineering company, headquartered in Montreal, and provides a wide range of technical and engineering services. Met-Chem is well-recognized for its capabilities in mining, geology and mineral processing and has a talented team of engineering, technical and project management personnel with experience in North America, Latin America, Europe, West Africa and India. Met-Chem is a division of DRA Americas, DRA is a multi-disciplinary global engineering group that originated in South Africa.
Qualified Person
Met-Chem’s Yves-A Buro, Eng. was responsible for validating the database and Schadrac Ibrango, P.Geo., Ph.D. for estimating the mineral resources and both have reviewed and approved the contents limited to the mineral resources of this news release. Yves-A Buro and Schadrac Ibrango are Qualified Persons and independent of Rogue Resources within the meaning of NI 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators.
The Silicon Ridge Exploration Project is under the direct supervision of Eddy Canova, P.Geo., and Senior Vice-President of the Company, a Qualified Person (“QP”) as defined by National Instrument 43-101, assisted by Paul Davis, P.Geo., Technical Consultant to the Company and also a QP as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Both QPs have approved the scientific and technical content of this release.
On Behalf of Rogue Resources Inc.
Sean Samson
President & CEO, Director
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosures in this release constitute forward-looking statements, including timing of completion of exploration work. In making the forward-looking statements in this release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company’s current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company, including that the Company is able to obtain any government or other regulatory approvals, that the Company is able to procure personnel, equipment and supplies required for its exploration and development activities in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis and that actual results are consistent with management’s expectations. Although the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, among others, those matters identified in its continuous disclosure filings, including its most recently filed MD&A. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and 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, except as required by law.
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For additional information regarding this news release please contact:
Sean Samson
sean@rogueresources.ca
+1-604-629-1808