The Balasausqandiq deposit is very large, with the centre of the estimated range being around 126 million tonnes of ore, equivalent to over 840,000 tonnes of V₂O₅ and equal to over four times the estimated annual world production of 2018. It is made up of five known ore-bodies. Only the first of these five ore-bodies has been fully explored but this single ore-body contains reserves on a JORC basis of over 23m tonnes of ore. When by-products are added on a “vanadium equivalent” basis, the value of the content of the deposit is even higher.
A GKZ (Kazakh State Reserves Committee) reserve of over 70 M tonnes was confirmed in 2014 as shown in the table below. This GKZ reserve was based on the partial drilling of the known ore-bodies and therefore does not reflect the full depth or extent of the known mineralisation. This reserve is used as the basis of mine planning and financial analysis in the Competent Person’s Report except that the lower ore grade set out in the JORC resource estimate (below) has been applied to the technical parameters and financial model.
2014 GKZ Reserve Summary
|
Category |
Reserve (1000 t) |
Mean grade V₂O₅ [%] |
|
B |
832 |
1.00 |
|
C1 |
15,649 |
0.75 |
|
C2 |
54,366 |
0.74 |
|
B+C1+C2 |
70,847 |
|
FAR was able to use this officially approved GKZ (Kazakhstan’s State Commission on Mineral Reserves) reserve to conduct economic studies on a much wider resource base than that declared for the interim but more limited JORC-based resource set out below.
Resource under JORC Code guidelines
GMR was commissioned by FAR in 2007 to provide on-going technical expertise in mineral resource evaluation, including geological and exploration support, to enable proper assessment of the Balasausqandiq deposit according to international standards. This has allowed the reporting of resources in accordance with the internationally recognised JORC Code guidelines. Only ore body number 1 has been adequately explored, and necessary supporting historic records recovered, to allow for full reporting as a resource under the JORC code, with ore-bodies 2 – 5 being classified as Exploration Potential pending further drilling.
|
JORC Vanadium Resource OB1 |
By-Products OB1 (primary ore only) |
|||||||||
|
JORC Class |
V₂O₅ % |
V₂O₅ % |
Tonnes [m] |
JORC indicated |
JORC inferred |
Total |
JORC inferred MoO₃ % mean |
JORC inferred U₃O₈ % mean |
||
|
C% |
Tonnes [m] |
C% |
Tonnes [m] |
|||||||
|
Indicated |
0.0 |
0.67 |
21.43 |
14.08 |
10.68 |
13.09 |
10.75 |
13.59 |
0.0300 |
0.0090 |
|
Inferred |
0.0 |
0.67 |
1.56 |
|
|
13.43 |
1.56 |
13.43 |
0.0297 |
0.0085 |
|
Combined |
0.0 |
0.67 |
22.99 |
|
|
|
|
13.58 |
0.0300 |
0.0090 |
|
Oxide cap inferred |
0.0 |
0.89 |
1.33 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
0.0 |
0.68 |
24.32 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The V₂O₅ cut-off grade in the table above is zero because the extent of the ore-body is geologically determined and is separate and distinct from the surrounding material. The cut-off is not assay-determined.
JORC Based Exploration Target (JORC 2004 Guidelines)
|
Orebodies 2 to 5 |
Strike Length (km) |
Tonnes [m] |
V₂O₅ Grade Range [%] |
||
|
From |
To |
From |
To |
||
|
Primary Zone |
20.9 |
73 |
98 |
0.65 |
0.71 |
|
Oxide Zone |
4.25 |
5.75 |
0.85 |
0.98 |
|
|
Combined |
|
77.3 |
103.8 |
0.66 |
0.72 |
JORC Based Exploration Target (JORC 2004 Guidelines) - By-Products applied to Ore Bodies 2 to 5 (Primary Zone Only)
|
Target |
Global Grades based on OB1 |
Grade Range ± 5 % |
|
|
From |
To |
||
|
Carbon |
13.58 % |
12.9 |
14.26 |
|
MoO₃ |
0.030 % |
0.029 |
0.032 |
|
U₃O₈ |
0.009 % |
0.009 |
0.009 |
|
REM |
335 ppm |
318 |
352 |
|
Total Tonnes (millions) |
|
73 |
98 |