ASX
AND MEDIA RELEASE
3
October 2007
·
KEY CAPE ALUMINA
WEIPA BAUXITE
TENEMENT GRANTED
·
MAJOR DRILLING TO EXPAND BAUXITE
DEPOSIT
Metallica Minerals
Limited (ASX: “MLM”) today announced that the Queensland
Government has granted Cape Alumina Pty Ltd (40% Metallica Minerals) the
Wenlock North tenement, significantly
expanding its 100% held Weipa granted tenement portfolio.
Exploration
Permit for Minerals (EPM) 15278
“Wenlock North” covers approximately 150 sq km and is an extension
of the Wenlock and Catfish pisolitic bauxite
deposits adjacent to the Alcan and Comalco mining leases on Queensland’s
Cape York Peninsula.
Metallica Minerals’ Managing
Director, Mr Andrew Gillies, said a major 2,000 hole aircore drilling programme is
planned at the Wenlock Project starting mid October and is expected
to significantly increase and upgrade the company’s initial 54 million
tonnes Inferred and Indicated insitu
bauxite resource at an average grade of 52.9% Al2O3,
12.8% total SiO2 (see ASX release
dated 22 January, 2007).
Part of the Wenlock project area
falls within the Bertiehaugh pastoral lease and cattle station, which was
recently purchased by Silverback Properties Pty Ltd, a company owned by the
family of the late renowned conservationist, Steve Irwin, with the assistance
of a Federal Government grant. Cape
Alumina will seek
meetings with representatives from Silverback as part of its on-going community
and stakeholder consultation process.
Cape Alumina has completed
a cultural heritage review of the Wenlock Project area. Baseline flora and
fauna surveys will commence in early October and will support a voluntary Environmental Impact Assessment of the project. The
Company has good support of the local aboriginal community and traditional
owners and has executed agreements with the Old Mapoon DOGIT trustees, the
Napranum Aboriginal Council and the Wik and Wik Way people.
“Results from the Wenlock
drilling will be fed into a Feasibility Study for the mining, transport and
shipping of bauxite, which should be completed late in 2008. Strong expressions
of interest have been received from a number of large Chinese alumina
refiners,” Mr Gillies said.
“We look forward to success
for Cape Alumina in promoting the sustained development of Cape York and
leading to the creation of long-term business and employment opportunities for
local Aboriginal communities in this remote part of northern Australia”,
he said.
Cape Alumina CEO,
Dr Paul Messenger, said:
“Based on a combined mapped bauxite plateau area of about 45 square
kilometres and an assumed average thickness of over 2 metres, Cape Alumina is targeting a total of 100 to 130
million tonnes * insitu bauxite
at Wenlock (including the current 54 million tonnes Indicated and
Inferred resource) suitable for export to Chinese alumina refineries after
beneficiation.
“Resource modelling will be
undertaken following completion of the drilling and results are expected in early
2008. This work will assist Cape
Alumina’s proposed
IPO previously reported (see ASX release
dated 24 July, 2007)”.
Enquiries:
Andrew Gillies, Managing
Director, Metallica Minerals 07-3891 9611 agillies@metallicaminerals.com.au
Dr Paul Messenger,
CEO, Cape Alumina Pty Ltd 07-3891
9611 or 0400 065 547 pmessenger@capealumina.com.au
For further information, please visit our websites - www.metallicaminerals.com.au
and www.capealumina.com.au
Note:-
( * ) The potential quantity and
grade of the insitu bauxite target is conceptual in nature, and there has been
insufficient exploration to define a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if
further exploration will result in the determination of a mineral resource.
Competent Persons Statement
The mineral
resources information in this report is based on, and accurately reflects,
information compiled by Mr Andrew Gillies
B.Sc Geology (Managing Director of Metallica Minerals Ltd) and Dr Paul Messenger BSc (Hon ) Geology, PhD (CEO of Cape Alumina Ltd) who are Members of the
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Both have the relevant
experience in relation to the mineralisation and resources being reported upon
to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition
of the ‘Australian Code for Reporting of Exploration
Results, Minerals Resources and Ore
Reserves’. Mr Gillies and Dr Messenger consent to the inclusion in this
report of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which
it appears.
Andrew Gillies
Managing Director
Metallica Minerals Ltd
1 Potts Street
East
Brisbane QLD 4169
GPO Box 122, Brisbane QLD 4001
T + 61 7 3891 9611
F + 61 7 3891 9199
M 0416 137 556 (International +61 416 137 556)
www.metallicaminerals.com.au