Drilling Update

RNS Number : 2669L

Amur Minerals Corporation

30 September 2016

 

30 September 2016

AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION

(AIM: AMC)

Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy 2016 Drill Summary

3,000 Metre Length of Indicated Resources Now Drill Defined

Amur Minerals Corporation ("Amur" or the "Company"), a far east Russian sulphide nickel copper explorer, is pleased to provide a summary update on the 2016 drill results for its Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy ("MKF") drill programme at Kun-Manie, located in the far east of Russia.  This season's drilling is now essentially complete and all planned objectives have been accomplished.  A maximum of three holes remain to be completed.

With the completion of 80 holes containing a total of 19,400.8 metres of drilling as of 24 September 2016, the Company has now drill confirmed the presence of continuous mineralisation along a 3,000 metre length of MKF.  This represents an increase of nearly 50% from that known to be present at the start of this year's drill programme.  Continuous open pit and underground economic grades (0.5% nickel cutoff grade) of mineralisation have now been proven to exist along the entire drilled length of the deposit. 

All MKF drill identified mineralisation is now completed at a spacing used by SRK Consulting UK Ltd ("SRK") to define Indicated resources.  This represents a substantial potential expansion in the Indicated resource which had been defined (May 2016) to be 1,400 metres in length.  Having more than doubled the length of the Indicated resource, the Company anticipates that there is substantial potential to increase the reserve inventory at MKF for inclusion in the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS").  The grade of the mineralisation is suitable for both open pit (0.2% nickel cutoff grade) and underground (0.5% nickel cutoff grade) production. 

Upside potential for resource expansion remains to the east of the last row of drill holes at MKF.  Approximately 400 metres of undrilled potential remain to be tested.  Beyond this geographically defined MKF limit is the Gorny target area.  Limited shallow drilling at Gorny indicates the presence of mineralisation.  Drilling of the MKF target and western area of Gorny is necessary.  The Company believes that the Gorny deposit could be a continuation of the MKF deposit and successful future drilling could confirm these two deposits may actually be one larger deposit having a length of up to 5 kilometres.

Highlights:

·     A record drill season with 19,400.5 metres of drilling having been completed through 24 September 2016 is now essentially complete.  A total of 80 holes have been drilled within the MKF deposit and fall into one of two groups, resource definition and metallurgical sample collection.

·     The intent of the resource definition phase of the programme was two-fold.  This included infill drilling of the May 2016 defined Inferred resources to a spacing allowing for the Inferred resource being upgraded to that of Indicated and to identify new mineralisation through step out drilling.  New mineral was also to be drilled at a spacing allowing for it to be classified as Indicated resource.

·     A total of 59 (15,213.3 metres) resource definition holes were successfully completed.  Using a 0.2% nickel cutoff grade (typical of open pit production criteria), the 2016 holes intersecting ore grade mineralisation indicated the average mineralised thickness per ore interval was 13.5 metres.  The average cumulative thickness per hole was 23.6 metres.  The average length weighted nickel grade is 0.76% with copper being 0.21%.  These thicknesses and grades are suitable for open pit production.

·     The previously identified high grade structure containing in excess of 0.5% nickel (typical of underground production criteria) has also been confirmed to exist along the entire 3,000 metre length of MKF.  The 2016 drill results average 0.90% nickel and 0.25% copper.  Average thicknesses of the high grade mineralisation by interval and per hole are 10.5 metres and 19.7 metres, respectively.  The structure contains 85% of the total drill defined nickel, hence the primary target of reserve definition.

·     As noted, the successful infill and step out phases of the programme have now expanded the MKF deposit to 3,000 metres in length with all mineralisation being drilled to the Indicated resource category spacing.  Previously (May 2016), the Indicated resource of MKF was identified to be 1,400 metres in length.  With the expansion of the deposit and its being comprehensively drilled at the spacing of Indicated, the Company anticipates a substantial upgrade in the next resource update.  Once all information is available from Alex Steward Laboratories ("ASL"), a resource update of the MKF deposit is planned for Q1 2017.

·     The configuration of the mineralisation at MKF is conducive to both open pit and underground mining.  Where mineral is located at and near the surface, open pit production is the preferred mining method.  As the stripping ratio increases in the open pit production environment, underground production becomes the preferred extraction method as the profit per underground produced ore tonne exceeds that of the open pit ore tonne.  This requires a trade-off study to identify the portions of the mineralisation that are best mined by one of the two production alternatives.

·     The final limits of the MKF deposit have not yet been defined.  An additional 400 metre resource expansion target remains to be drilled at the eastern limits of the MKF area.  The eastern limit of the drill target is an arbitrarily selected limit.  Beyond this 400 metre exploration potential block, the Gorny deposit is present which contains limited drill information at the shallow near surface mineral outcrops.  Drilling within the remaining MKF target and at Gorny is necessary which could result in confirmation that Gorny may be an extension of the MKF deposit resulting in a single deposit having a total length of nearly 5 kilometres in length.

·     The remaining 21 holes (4,187.5 metres) completed at MKF have allowed the Company to generate a 7.5 tonne bulk metallurgical sample for use flowsheet determination and process plant design.  The bulk metallurgical sample has been transported to our Khabarovsk core storage facility for future metallurgical treatment.

·     ASL has now delivered analytical results for 63% of the drill samples.  It is anticipated that the final ASL results will be available in 6 to 8 weeks.

Robin Young, CEO of Amur Minerals, commented:

"We are pleased to report that we are at the end of this year's drill programme and our field team has completed an outstanding job.  With the early start and availability of sufficient fuel stocks, we have drilled nearly 4,400 metres more than the planned 15,000 metres and generated a 7.5 tonne bulk sample which is 50% larger than anticipated.

"Drilling has expanded the Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy deposit by nearly 50% to a total length of 3,000 metres.  We have also drilled the entire structure at a spacing which should allow us to report a substantial increase in the Indicated resource which was previously identified to be only 1,400 metres in length.  We now have the luxury of being able to include the entire deposit in the identification of reserves.  This could have a substantial and highly positive impact on the Definitive Feasibility Study results.

"As we move into our planning cycle for next year's field programme, we will be considering where our prime drill targets and objectives will be for next year.  Previously, the priority target was Kubuk, but with the identification that MKF and Gorny could be that same mineralised structure, we will be reviewing our drill priority list in the very near future."

Company Amur Minerals Corp.	Nomad and Broker S.P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP	Public Relations Yellow Jersey
Robin Young CEO	Ewan Leggat Laura Harrison	Dominic Barretto Harriet Jackson
[phone]	[phone]	[phone]

For additional information, visit the Company's website, www.amurminerals.com.

Please follow the link at the end of this RNS to view figures showing MKF drill hole location map. 

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.

Notes to Editors

The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by the CEO of Amur, Mr. Robin Young.  Mr. Young is a Geological Engineer (cum laude), a Professional Geologist licensed by the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, and is a Qualified Professional Geologist, as defined by the Toronto and Vancouver Stock Exchanges.  An employee of Amur for 12 years, previously Mr. Young was employed as an exploration and mine geologist, mining engineer, construction manager of a mine startup as well as independent consultant with Fluor Engineers, Fluor Australia and Western Services Engineering, Inc. during which time his responsibilities included the independent compilation of resources and reserves in accordance with JORC standards.  In addition, he has been the lead engineer and project manager in the compilation of numerous studies and projects requiring the compilation of independent Bankable Studies utilised to finance small to large scale projects worldwide.  Mr. Young is responsible for the content of this announcement which includes information derived by SRK Consulting Ltd and Alex Stewart Laboratories.

For further information, see the Company website at www.amurminerals.com.

Key Information

Resource Distribution

May 2016 Global Resource Statement

Zero Cutoff Grade

Resource Class	Tonnage	Ni	Ni	Cu	Cu	Pt	Pt	Pd	Pd
	Mt	%	t	%	t	g/t	kg	g/t	kg
Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy
Measured	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Indicated	68.4	0.42	285,200	0.12	84,200	0.10	6,600	0.10	6,900
Sub-total	68.4	0.42	285,200	0.12	84,200	0.10	6,600	0.10	6,900
Inferred	22.2	0.37	81,400	0.12	25,70	0.09	1,900	0.09	2,000
Total	90.6	0.40	366,600	0.12	109,900	0.09	8,500	0.10	8,900
Ikenskoe / Sobolevsky
Measured	17.5	0.50	88,600	0.14	24,200	0.18	3,200	0.20	3,500
Indicated	11.8	0.39	46,000	0.10	11,400	0.14	1,700	0.17	2,000
Sub-total	29.4	0.46	134,600	0.12	35,600	0.16	4,900	0.19	5,500
Inferred	5.9	0.78	46,100	0.19	11,400	0.17	1,100	0.21	1,200
Total	35.2	0.51	180,700	0.13	47,000	0.17	5,900	0.19	6,700
Kubuk
Measured	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Indicated	3.7	0.76	28,500	0.17	7,300	0.17	700	0.18	700
Sub-total	3.7	0.76	28,500	0.17	7,300	0.17	700	0.18	700
Inferred	22.0	0.47	104,500	0.15	32,100	0.14	3,100	0.12	2,700
Total	25.7	0.52	133,000	0.15	39,400	0.15	3,800	0.13	3,400
Vodorazdelny
Measured	0.8	0.57	4,700	0.17	1,400	0.25	200	0.25	200
Indicated	4.8	0.66	31,200	0.17	8,200	0.13	600	0.13	600
Sub-total	5.6	0.64	35,900	0.17	9,600	0.14	800	0.14	800
Inferred	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	5.6	0.64	35,900	0.17	9,600	0.14	800	0.14	800
Gorny
Measured	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Indicated	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sub-total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Inferred	7.6	0.31	23,900	0.09	7,000	0.21	1,600	0.25	1,900
Total	7.6	0.31	23,900	0.09	7,000	0.21	1,600	0.25	1,900
Total Resource
Total Measured	18.3	0.51	93,300	0.14	25,600	0.19	3,400	0.20	3,700
Total Indicated	88.7	0.44	390,900	0.12	111,100	0.11	9,600	0.11	10,200
Sub-total	107.0	0.45	484,100	0.13	136,600	0.12	13,000	0.13	13,900
Total Inferred	57.7	0.44	255,900	0.13	76,200	0.13	7,700	0.14	7,800
Grand Total	164.7	0.45	740,100	0.13	212,900	0.12	20,600	0.13	21,700

Resource Distribution Based On A Cutoff Grade

Application of a cutoff grade to report the maximum potential resource that could be mined using open pit or underground methods indicates the portion of the resource that is relevant for inclusion in potential reserve study work.  It is noted that at a 0.2% cutoff grade, nearly 89% of the nickel (660,500 tonnes) and 87% (184,600 tonnes) of the copper resource is available to open pit production consideration.  At an assumed underground cutoff grade of 0.5% nickel, the underground mineralisation potential includes 74% (546,800 tonnes) of the drill identified nickel mineralisation and 56% (119,500 tonnes) of the identified copper mineralisation.  The average nickel grade ranges from 0.60% to .081% with copper ranging from 0.17% to 0.18%.  It is also noted that nearly 50% of the total resource for nickel and copper using either cutoff grade is located within the MKF deposit making it the primary drill target of resource confirmation and resource expansion.

May 2016 Global Resource (Measured Plus Indicated Plus Inferred)

Cutoff Grade (% Nickel)

Orebody	Tonnage	Ni	Ni	Cu	Cu
	Mt	%	t	%	t
MalyKrumkon/Flangovy
0.20% Nickel Cutoff Grade	50.8	0.63	320,040	0.18	91,440
0.50% Nickel Cutoff Grade	32.6	0.84	273,840	0.16	52,160
Ikenskoe/Sobolevsky
0.20% Nickel Cutoff Grade	29.5	0.58	171,100	0.15	44,250
0.50% Nickel Cutoff Grade	17.1	0.82	140,220	0.19	32,490
Kubuk
0.20% Nickel Cutoff Grade	24.5	0.54	132,300	0.16	39,200
0.50% Nickel Cutoff Grade	13.3	0.76	101,080	0.20	26,600
Vodorazdelny
0.20% Nickel Cutoff Grade	5.7	0.65	37,050	0.17	9,690
0.50% Nickel Cutoff Grade	4.1	0.77	31,570	0.20	8,200
Total Resource
0.20% Nickel Cutoff Grade	110.5	0.60	660,490	0.17	184,580
0.50% Nickel Cutoff Grade	67.1	0.81	546,710	0.18	119,450

2016 Drill Hole Results - Resource Definition Only

Alex Stewart Laboratory Analytical Results

Hole	Total Depth	0.2% Nickel Cutoff Grade					0.5% Cutoff Grade
	(m)	From (m)	To (m)	Length (m)	Ni (%)	Cu (%)	From (m)	To (m)	Length (m)	Ni (%)	Cu (%)
C400	47.0	No Ore
C401	301.0	199.5	205.3	5.8	0.91	0.21	201.0	205.3	4.3	1.13	0.26
		214.4	219.0	4.6	1.05	0.21	214.4	217.8	3.4	1.34	0.26
C402	61.0	No Ore
C403	207.0	129.0	143.5	14.5	0.51	0.14	130.5	139.0	8.5	0.70	0.18
		154.5	159.0	4.5	0.44	0.17
C406	86.5	23.5	61.7	38.2	0.72	0.18	23.5	49.0	25.5	0.84	0.22
							53.5	61.7	8.2	0.62	0.14
C404	138.6	47.9	76.0	28.1	0.72	0.2	47.9	52.4	4.5	0.55	0.19
							55.4	66.0	10.6	0.93	0.24
		83.5	109.0	25.5	0.78	0.2	93.5	107.5	14.0	1.02	0.21
C405	171.0	131.9	136.4	4.5	0.87	0.24	131.9	136.4	4.5	0.87	0.24
		154.9	163.0	8.1	0.67	0.17	156.4	163.0	6.6	0.76	0.19
C407	153.2	74.9	143.3	68.4	0.93	0.26	74.9	98.2	23.3	0.94	0.25
							100.8	143.3	42.5	1.01	0.29
C408	193.0	155.0	165.5	10.5	0.79	0.25	155.0	165.5	10.5	0.79	0.25
		174.4	183.3	8.9	0.55	0.14	177.5	183.3	5.8	0.65	0.13
C409	204.0	135.8	201.1	65.3	0.86	0.273	135.8	153.3	17.5	0.90	0.33
							156.3	199.6	43.3	0.93	0.28
C415	271.0	233.7	244.1	10.4	0.6	0.15	235.1	241.1	6.0	0.81	0.18
		250.1	259.0	8.9	0.44	0.15	253.1	256.1	3.0	0.62	0.23
C326	82.0	6.0	9.0	3.0	0.31	0.05
		14.5	19.0	4.5	0.27	0.11
		31.0	44.5	13.5	0.44	0.21	37.0	40.0	3.0	0.70	0.21
		56.6	74.1	17.5	0.78	0.19	59.5	74.1	14.6	0.88	0.20
C327	109	94.0	98.5	4.5	0.28	0.07
C410	240.0	227.3	230.3	3.0	0.22	0.07
C411	187.0	181.1	187.0	5.9	0.27	0.13
C412	256.0	211.9	241.0	29.1	0.74	0.19	211.9	224.2	12.3	1.00	0.22
							233.2	239.0	5.8	0.88	0.25
C413	187.0	151.7	157.7	6.0	0.44	0.20
		163.7	166.7	3.0	0.33	0.14
C414	299.2	236.3	251.3	15.0	0.96	0.24	236.3	251.3	15.0	0.96	0.24
		260.3	296.7	36.4	0.98	0.24	260.3	294.6	34.3	1.02	0.25
C416	264.0	227.2	237.5	10.3	0.75	0.23	227.2	237.5	10.3	0.75	0.23
		244.0	252.4	8.4	0.56	0.15	248.5	252.4	3.9	0.79	0.20
C417	331.0	286.6	297.1	10.5	0.69	0.15	288.1	292.6	4.5	1.21	0.26
		303.1	313.6	10.5	0.32	0.14
C418	314.5	274.5	292.6	18.1	0.92	0.23	274.5	290.6	16.1	0.99	0.25
C419	213.4	207.0	211.1	4.1	0.28	0.12
C420	298.0	237.7	288.6	50.9	0.82	0.21	237.7	243.4	5.7	0.70	0.20
							246.8	263.3	16.5	1.24	0.22
							266.3	287.1	20.8	1.07	0.27
C421	340.0	305.1	332.6	27.5	0.91	0.24	305.1	318.6	13.5	0.97	0.27
							321.6	331.1	9.5	1.15	0.28
C422	360.0	No Ore
C423	358.2	No Ore
C424	202.0	98.4	110.6	12.2	0.88	0.23	100.0	112.3	12.3	0.93	0.23
		174.2	180.4	6.2	0.51	0.16	177.3	180.4	3.1	0.76	0.20
C425	380.0	No Ore
C426	421.0	No Ore
C324	270.0	231.7	243.7	12.0	0.54	0.19	231.7	235.3	3.6	1.02	0.25
		248.5	252.1	3.6	0.77	0.19
C325	320.0	No Ore
C328	70.0	No Ore
C329	379.0	337.4	351.3	13.9	0.81	0.21	337.4	346.8	9.4	1.04	0.26
		359.7	372.0	12.3	0.65	0.16	360.8	372.0	11.2	0.69	0.17
C330	305.0	253.3	267.8	14.5	0.71	0.19	254.7	263.1	8.4	1.00	0.22
		281.8	286.6	4.8	1.10	0.21	281.8	286.6	4.8	1.10	0.21
C427	432.7	No Ore
C331	216.0	No Ore
C428	331.0	317.8	321.9	4.1	0.79	0.26	317.8	321.9	4.1	0.79	0.26
C332	383.0	296.7	308.6	11.9	0.70	0.25	299.0	307.2	8.2	0.89	0.29
		320.2	326.3	6.1	0.24	0.11
		369.0	373.6	4.6	0.71	0.23	369.0	373.6	4.6	0.71	0.23
C429	358.0	276.5	308.0	31.5	0.95	0.22	279.5	306.5	27.0	1.05	0.25
		317.0	333.8	16.8	0.96	0.26	320.0	333.8	13.8	1.06	0.28
		338.6	352.0	13.4	0.94	0.25	338.6	352.0	13.4	1.01	0.27
C333	352.0	314.5	323.5	9.0	0.86	0.29	314.5	322.0	7.5	0.96	0.33
		340.2	344.5	4.3	0.95	0.29	340.2	343.7	3.3	1.11	0.26
C430	421.0	357.1	370.0	12.9	0.72	0.15	357.1	358.6	1.5	2.07	0.16
							361.6	366.5	4.9	0.85	0.19
		384.5	387.5	3.0	0.37	0.13
		401.0	410.1	9.1	0.67	0.16	403.5	408.4	4.9	0.90	0.19
C334	413.0	365.3	374.1	8.8	0.57	0.19	366.3	369.3	3.0	0.95	0.20
C335	304.1	195.8	204.1	8.3	0.81	0.30	195.8	204.1	8.3	0.82	0.30
		209.3	221.2	11.9	0.85	0.24	209.3	204.1	11.9	0.85	0.25
C336	295.7	231.2	248.5	17.3	0.99	0.41	233.5	248.5	15.0	1.07	0.46
		271.0	295.7	24.7	0.90	0.24	271.0	291.3	20.3	1.02	0.29
C337	313.0	In Site Analysis
C431	310.0	298.7	301.6	2.9	0.87	0.14	300.2
		285.6	298.7	13.1	0.83	0.27	285.6	297.2	11.6	0.91	0.30
C432	331.0	254.8	278.0	23.2	0.83	0.28	254.8	275.5	20.7	0.89	0.30
		285.6	298.7	13.1	0.83	0.27	285.6	297.2	11.6	0.91	0.30
C433	343.0	312.8	320.3	7.5	0.75	0.21	312.8	318.8	6.0	0.83	0.23
C434	241.0	173.5	192.3	18.8	0.36	0.11	178.5	181.7	3.2	0.87	0.18
		201.9	208.6	6.7	0.54	0.27	203.4	207.5	4.1	0.61	0.30
		225.1	233.0	7.9	0.67	0.18	226.6	231.0	4.4	0.87	0.34
C435	261.0	204.7	216.2	11.5	1.10	0.28	204.7	214.7	10.0	1.22	0.31
		238.8	252.7	13.9	0.89	0.20	240.3	252.7	12.4	0.95	0.21
C436	292.0	252.7	259.1	6.4	0.67	0.21	252.7	257.5	4.8	0.82	0.26
		275.6	280.8	5.2	0.80	0.23	275.6	280.8	5.2	0.81	0.24
C437	366.0	332.4	337.3	4.9	0.95	0.23	332.4	337.3	4.9	0.96	0.23
		357.3	362.7	5.4	0.69	0.23	357.3	361.5	4.2	0.77	0.22
C438	190.0	101.2	104.2	3.0	0.22	0.09
C439	187.0	126.4	141.6	15.2	0.71	0.17	129.9	139.0	9.1	0.98	0.22
		160.0	177.5	17.5	0.71	0.18	161.5	174.5	13.0	0.83	0.20
C440	235.0	No Ore
C441	151.0	No Ore
C442	129.0	91.1	99.0	7.9	0.83	0.19	91.1	99.0	7.9	0.83	0.20
		111.0	116.1	5.1	0.50	0.17	111.0	115.0	4.0	0.58	0.18
C443	220.0	No Ore
C444	118.0	In Site Analysis
Average Interval				23.6	0.76	0.21			19.7	0.90	0.25

Click on or paste the following link into your web browser to view the Maly Kurumkon / Flangovy 2016 Drill Location Map: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2669L_-2016-9-29.pdf 

Glossary

DEFINITIONS OF EXPLORATION RESULTS, RESOURCES & RESERVES

EXTRACTED FROM THE JORC CODE: (December 2012) (www.jorc.org)

A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.

An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological and/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes which may be limited or of uncertain quality and reliability.

An 'Indicated Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a reasonable level of confidence. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The locations are too widely or inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be assumed.

A 'Measured Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of confidence. It is based on detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The locations are spaced closely enough to confirm geological and/or grade continuity.

An 'Ore Reserve' is the economically mineable part of a Measured and/or Indicated Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses which may occur when the material is mined. Appropriate assessments and studies have been carried out, and include consideration of and modification by realistically assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction could reasonably be justified. Ore Reserves are sub-divided in order of increasing confidence into Probable Ore Reserves and Proved Ore Reserves.

 

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