Canadian listed Alphamin Resources Corp (AFM: TSXV) has announced a 30% increase of its Indicated Mineral Resources to 3.94 Mt of ore at 3.94% Sn, or 155,300 tonnes of contained tin, at the Mpama North target of the company’s Bisie Tin Project in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The figure was revised using results from 132 drill holes undertaken as part of an ongoing infill and deep drilling programme at the deposit, which included 21.7 m at 7.44% Sn from 300 m and 13 m at 5.76% Sn from 386 m. The Inferred Resource was also updated to 0.84 Mt of ore at 4.64% Sn, or 38,900 tonnes of contained tin, representing a 9% fall from March 2015. This decrease was due the transfer of the majority of the Inferred Resource reported earlier this year to the Indicated category, with replenishment from the recent extensional drilling. Both resource figures quoted were calculated using a 0.5% Sn grade cut-off.
High grade mineralisation at Mpama North is known to occur along two parallel plunging chutes and remains open at depth and down plunge, although the top 50 m of the deposit has been depleted by past artisanal mining. The current drilling programme for the deposit is near completion with 4 holes remaining this year, whilst drilling at the project’s Mpama South target has been deferred until 2016.
ITRI View: Bisie has the highest grade tin resource of all known tin projects worldwide and exploration work at the site continues to yield strong results. Mitigating the risk from social unrest and political instability in the country remains a key obstacle for mine development. However, the South Africa Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) announced plans this week to buy a stake in Alphamin, its first investment in the DRC since a dispute over a failed project in 2010, demonstrating a belief that the projects potential outweighs the country risk.
