WMN prepares for core drilling at SE Sulawesi tenement
Monday, June 16 2014 - 04:35 AM WIB
ASX-listed Western Mining Network Limited (WMN) announced Monday that due diligence on the Tamboli slate project in Southeast Sulawaesi is progressing well.
WMN said in a statement that PT Mekongga Sejahtera, the holder of the Tamboli tenement, which is indicated to contain graphite, has recently completed a significant amount work including geophysical survey of selected zones that indicates anomalies of conductive slate (indicates possible graphite content); topographic survey of the tenement is underway; geological mapping of all major drainage has been carried out and is progressing into minor tributaries; and forty-nine outcrop samples collected for assay.
?The forty-nine outcrop samples collected are currently being assayed by various independent laboratories with results pending. Loss on ignition is being used as a proxy for graphite content. XRF analysis is being carried out for a suite of elements including silicon, lithium, and vanadium,? the statement said.
It added that the data received has been used to characterize the outcrop samples into five potential mineral types for the purpose of testing mineral recoveries by laboratory-scale flotation testing. Successful flotation of graphite has been reported by Mekongga using an on site pilot plant operated under the direction of personnel from the Padjajaran University in Bandung, West Java.
WMN said it is currently reviewing all work completed by Mekongga and plans to use the geophysical survey (resistivity and IP), mapping and sampling to target drill hole sites for a preliminary core-drilling program.
The company intends to start the core drilling program as part of the company?s due diligence, in a few weeks? time once contract negotiations are finalized.
?Given the significant amount of work already completed by Mekongga, the Board are confident that due diligence can be completed within the ninety day time period as detailed in the Heads of Agreement,? WMN said.
WMN said earlier in June that it has entered into a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Milestone Link Pte. Ltd, providing WMN with rights to ultimately acquire 75 percent interest in a slate tenement that contains indications of graphite in Tamboli, Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi.
?Should future exploration be successful, it is planned that an industrial park and a graphite beneficiation plant will be constructed in the immediate area to offtake the majority of production,? WMN said.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak