16 February
2024
Sylvania Platinum Limited
("Sylvania", the "Company" or the
"Group")
Results of Updated Mineral Resource
Estimates for Northern Limb Mineral Assets
Sylvania (AIM:SLP), the platinum
group metals ("PGM") producer and developer with assets in South
Africa, is pleased to announce the updated Mineral Resource
Estimates ("MRE") for its Volspruit Project located on the Northern
Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa.
The results include revised MREs for the
Volspruit North and Volspruit South ore bodies, including for
rhodium ("Rh") and ruthenium ("Ru"), both of which had previously
not been assayed. The MRE is in line with the JORC (2012) Standard
as a whole.
Highlights
Volspruit North
· Volspruit North JORC MRE (Indicated):
o 16.42 million tonnes ("Mt") at a 4E
(4E includes platinum ("Pt"), palladium ("Pd"), Rh and gold ("Au"))
grade of 2.52 grams per tonne ("g/t");
o 1.33
million 4E ounces at a
grade of 2.52 g/t;
o 21.94 million pounds ("lb") of copper ("Cu") at a grade of
0.07%;
o 61.50 million lb of nickel ("Ni") at a grade of 0.18%;
o The
MRE represents a 10% increase in the indicated tonnage from the
previously reported MRE (October 2022) resulting from a more
defined geological modelling exercise that has also resulted in the
4E grade improving by 4%; and
o The
addition of Rh estimates has improved the overall grade by
approximately 7%.
Volspruit South
· Volspruit South JORC MRE (Inferred):
o 10.60 Mt at 4E grade of 2.11 g/t;
o 14.83 million lb of Cu at a grade of 0.06%;
o 46.96 million lb of Ni at a grade of 0.20%;
o This
MRE is the first one completed since the mineralised zones have
been redefined and, as expected, it reports approximately a third
of the tonnages at almost double the grades previously reported by
Integrated Geological Solutions (Pty) Ltd ("IGS") in
2012.
Next Steps
The Company has embarked on a
Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") of the Volspruit Project in
order to assess what value the addition of the Volspruit South
resources, and the Rh and Ru resources might add to the overall
project. Metallurgical test work is being undertaken on fresh core
that was drilled during the course of the 2023 calendar year. Based
on the results of the scoping study and metallurgical test work
that is expected during Q4 FY2024 a decision will be made on
progressing the project to a pre-feasibility study phase during
FY2025.
Jaco Prinsloo, CEO of Sylvania, commented:
"I am pleased to announce the successful completion of the
Mineral Resource Estimate update at our Volspruit Project,
facilitated by Earthlab Technical Division, a South African
geological consulting company. The exploration results align with
our strategic goals, emphasising the importance of exploration
assets as a key driver for Sylvania Platinum's growth
strategy.
"The updated geological model reveals a notable 10% increase
in the Volspruit North MRE compared to the October 2022
publication, accompanied by improved overall grades. These
enhancements result from a more constrained geological model based
on interpreted mineralised zones.
"Our commitment to meeting investment and workstream
requirements for existing Mining Rights remains steadfast, with
specialist teams actively working on authorisations, including the
Water Use Licence, Environmental Impact Assessment update, and
finalisation of the amended Social and Labour
Plan.
"The previously declared Measured Resources for Volspruit
North were downgraded to the Indicated category as a result of the
short-range variability between closely spaced boreholes being
highlighted during the reef redefining exercise. This serves to
demonstrate that while our understanding of the resource is
improving, we are also able to identify where future efforts will
need to be focussed. Resources for Volspruit South are
currently categorised as Inferred due to structural complexity and
sparse drilling data.
"In conclusion, the updated Mineral Resource Estimates
demonstrate the positive impact of our optimisation efforts at the
Volspruit Project. We are optimistic about the future value these
results will bring to our stakeholders and are committed to further
exploration activities in FY2024 to unlock additional value from
our existing mining rights. We anticipate sharing further updates
in the near future."
Further Information
The Volspruit PGM-Ni-Cu Project located within
the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa
is covered by approved Mining Rights held by Sylvania.
Volspruit Project
The Company initiated a Mineral Resource Estimate update with the assistance of
Earthlab Technical Division ("Earthlab"), a mining and exploration
consulting company, at the Volspruit Project. The primary objective
was to apply the revised definition of the mineralised zones to the
historic borehole core to better define the Volspruit North
resource estimate and redefine the Volspruit South resource
estimate. Statistical regression techniques were utilised to
estimate the Rh and Ru content of both ore bodies.
The newly defined geological model shows an
increase of 10% on the previously published MRE in October 2022 for
Volspruit North as well as an improvement of the overall grades.
These improvements are the result of the more constrained
geological model defined by the interpreted mineralised zones. The
historical MRE for Volspruit South was reduced significantly in
terms of tonnage, however, the improvement in the overall grade
warrants the remodelling and highlights the fact that mineralised
zones do exist within the larger low-grade ore body that had
previously been modelled.
Rh and Ru values were estimated for both ore
bodies after statistical analysis proved a strong relationship
between Pt, Pd and Au, and Rh and Ru values. This allowed for
regression methods to be utilised to estimate these missing values.
It should be noted that regression techniques are commonly utilised
and are based on a smaller set of samples that have been analysed
for the missing elements to which a relationship is then
established. The improvement to the overall grades is in line with
expectations.
We continue to meet the investment and
workstream requirements relating to the permits under the existing
Mining Right, with specialist technical teams currently working on
the authorisations. These authorisations include the Water Use
Licence for the mining and on-site processing of the ore, updating
of the Environmental Impact Assessment and the finalisation of the
amended Social and Labour Plan ("SLP") which will update the Local
Economic Development ("LED") project that is included in the Mining
Right held by the Company.
Mineral Resource Estimate
Tables 1 and 3 show the Volspruit North and
Volspruit South mineral resource tons and grades respectively in
g/t of Pt, Pd, Rh, and Au, summed up as 4E grade, as well as Ru in
g/t and Cu and Ni as percentages. The tons and the metal content
are reported on a 100% attributable basis for all the PGMs and Base
Metals (Tables 2 and 4). The tables furthermore divide the tons,
ounces, and contained base metals into two Resource Classifications
for Volspruit North and one Resource Classification for Volspruit
South as per the JORC Code (2012). The categories in decreasing
confidence levels are Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories.
No Measured resources have been declared.
A significantly large proportion of the 4E oz
(93%) of Volspruit North reports to the Indicated category. The
Inferred Mineral Resources are attributed to faulting resulting in
areas of structural complexity and less geological confidence as
well as limited drilling closer to the Nyl River. The previously
declared Measured resources were downgraded to the Indicated
category as a result of short-range variability being observed
between the closely spaced boreholes. This serves to highlight that
whilst our understanding of the ore body continues to improve
through these relogging exercises, areas requiring additional
information are being highlighted allowing us to focus future
drilling programmes.
At this stage, the entire Volspruit South
resource reports to the Inferred category due to the high
structural complexity observed in the area coupled with sparse
drilling data.