MtThirsty_2008

MT THIRSTY PROJECT (Barra 50%)
OPERATIONS REPORT
MT THIRSTY PROJECT (Barra 50%)
EXPLORATION
The 55 square kilometre Mt Thirsty Cobalt-Nickel-Manganese Project is located 20 kilometres north-northwest of Norseman, Western Australia. During the first half of 2008, Barra completed extensional aircore drilling programs on behalf of the joint venture totalling 100 holes drilled for 3,605 metres. The holes were drilled to expand the existing 20,970,000 tonne resource south beyond the 6,500mN section and out approximately 800 metres to the west (Figure 1). The program was highly successful identifying significant cobaltnickel-manganese mineralisation west and south of the previous resource. The newly discovered zones appear identical in nature to the existing Mt Thirsty deposit in terms of both mineralogy and overall thickness of the ore profile.
Concurrently, 7 diamond holes totalling 337.5m (MTDD1 to 7) were drilled to attain more accurate metallurgical and geological information to better estimate the resources at Mt Thirsty. A preliminary comparison of the assays returned for the PQ diamond drill holes with that of aircore holes they twinned suggests good repeatability between drill holes. All drill results are presented in Table 2.
The Indicated and Inferred resource is confined to a single orebody at shallow depths extending over a strike length of approximately 1,300 metres between 7,600mN and 6,300mN sections, approaching 850 metres in width and averaging approximately 12 metres in thickness (Figure 1).
Further Potential
There is very good potential to expand the resource further south along strike to the tenement boundary, a distance of some 600 metres, as mineralisation remains open beyond the 6,300mN section.
Resource Estimation
As a consequence of the Company’s drilling programs, the previous resource has been substantially increased by 38% to a JORC1 compliant resource of 29,030,000 tonnes grading 0.12% cobalt, 0.56% nickel and 0.88% manganese. The total Indicated and Inferred resource contains approximately 162,000 tonnes of nickel, 35,000 tonnes of cobalt and 255,000 tonnes of manganese (Table 3).
Table 3: Mt Thirsty Resource at Varying Cobalt Cut-off Grades (calculated within mineralised envelope)
Indicated Resource Category Cobalt Cut-off % 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.20 0.30 Tonnage 14,800,000 12,510,000 9,610,000 1,950,000 490,000 Cobalt%/Nickel%/ Manganese% 0.14/0.59/0.99 0.15/0.60/1.08 0.17/0.61/1.21 0.27/0.67/1.98 0.38/0.73/2.71 Inferred Resource Category Tonnage 14,230,000 11,100,000 7 ,320,000 570,000 120,000 Cobalt%/Nickel%/ Manganese% 0.11/0.52/0.77 0.12/0.53/0.84 0.14/0.54/0.96 0.27/0.59/1.96 0.38/0.67/2.91 Tonnage 29,030,000 23,610,000 16,930,000 2,520,000 610,000 Total Resource Cobalt%/Nickel%/ Manganese% 0.12/0.56/0.88 0.14/0.57/0.97 0.15/0.58/1.10 0.27/0.65/1.97 0.38/0.71/2.75
Note: The table above shows rounded tonnages. This may cause some apparent computational discrepancies.
1
The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves prepared by the Joint Ore Resources Committee, The Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Mineral Council of Australia as at 9 March 2005.
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BARRA RESOURCES AR08

OPERATIONS REPORT
Metallurgy
The deposit differs significantly from typical nickel laterite occurrences in that it is completely oxidised containing mainly goethite, haematite and manganese oxide minerals. The differing mineralogy of the deposit, which is a product of the unique weathering, allows for rapid high leaching recoveries, up to 95% cobalt, 92% nickel and 97% manganese at moderate temperatures and normal atmospheric pressures utilising weak sulphuric acid and sulphur dioxide gas. Recent test work by Bateman Engineering Pty Ltd (“Bateman”) indicates significant reductions in acid consumption can be achieved to levels below 300 kilograms per tonne making the project one of the world’s lowest atmospheric leach acid consumers. Pilot testing of 2 tonnes of high grade ore representing the type of ore to be treated during the first 4 years of production and 3.5 tonnes of run of mine ore is due to commence in late November 2008 at SGS Lakefield in Ontario, Canada. The testing facility at SGS Lakefield is world class and is ideally suited to Mt Thirsty type ore.
Fast Tracked Development Program
The Company has been working closely with consultancy firms over the past 6 months to fast track the Project Management Plan and Mining Proposal for the Mt Thirsty deposit. Bateman in conjunction with CSIRO will complete the metallurgy component of the Feasibility Study by early January 2009 including results of the pilot test run at SGS Lakefield. The engineering and financing component including plant design work is due for completion by June 2009. The completion of plant construction and first start-up is scheduled for June 2011. Both flora and fauna surveys have been carried out over the entire project area including areas covered by miscellaneous licence applications. No endangered species of flora or rare forms of fauna were identified within the survey area. The joint venture is now working rapidly on this exciting project with a clear focus on the development of this valuable resource.
Nickel Sulphide Gossan Discovery
A surface reconnaissance rock-chip sampling program searching for nickel sulphide mineralisation was recently carried out within the Mt Thirsty area along a prospective basal ultramaficbasalt contact. The Woodcutters Prospect hosts one of the largest and most complex basal embayment type structures within the Mt Thirsty tenement package. Here, seven gossanous rock-chip samples believed to be nickel sulphide bearing were collected. These were analysed for a suite of elements that aid in identifying surface expressions of nickel sulphide mineralisation. One of the key indicator elements is copper. It occurs as chalcopyrite within nickel sulphide ores. Six of the seven gossans sampled at Woodcutters returned high levels of both copper and nickel. The results are presented in Table 4. These initial results are very encouraging and clearly indicate the presence of oxidised nickel sulphide mineralisation at surface. The location of the gossans is also interesting in that the oxidised nickel sulphides are not only present on the basal ultramafic-basalt contact but also in potential hanging-wall positions. This type of complexity is very common within the nickel sulphide deposits of Kambalda.
Table 4: Mt Thirsty Gossan Rock-chip Assay Results
Sample Gossan 1 Gossan 2 Gossan 3 Gossan 4 Gossan 5 Gossan 6 Gossan 7 North 6450970 6451095 6451023 6450910 6450910 6450777 6450777 East 367535 367425 367493 367692 367692 367495 367499 Nickel (ppm) 2,850 3,414 4,808 3,639 2,544 4,074 413 Copper (ppm) 750 2,383 1,368 2,412 918 1,328 861 Zinc (ppm) 6,967 1,396 666 1,045 1,878 2,274 1,284 Iron (%) N/A 49.9 52.1 46.1 40.7 49.9 39.7
Note: N/A denotes ‘result not available’
BARRA RESOURCES AR08
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OPERATIONS REPORT
Figure 1: Mt Thirsty Drill Hole Location Plan
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BARRA RESOURCES AR08

OPERATIONS REPORT
Table 2: Mt Thirsty Aircore and Diamond Drill Results
Hole MTAC222 MTAC223 MTAC224* MTAC225* MTAC226 MTAC228 MTAC229 MTAC233 including MTAC234 MTAC235 including MTAC236 including MTAC237 MTAC238* MTAC239 MTAC240 including MTAC242 MTAC243* MTAC247 MTAC248 MTAC249 MTAC250 MTAC251 MTAC252 including MTAC253 MTAC254 MTAC259 MTAC260 MTAC261 MTAC262 MTAC263 MTAC264 MTAC265 MTAC266 MTAC267 including MTAC268 MTAC271 MTAC272 MTAC273 MTAC274* MTAC275B* MTAC276* including From (m) 16 16 20 33 32 33 19 26 26 36 28 28 28 28 42 39 30 24 24 13 To (m) Width (m) 4 6 5 6 10 4 8 13 9 8 14 5 16 5 5 6 6 8 4 1 7 8 12 6 14 13 16 8 15 11 3 15 18 8 10 10 9 1 12 4 1 40 8 3 4 6 26 9 Cobalt (%) 0.18 0.46 0.12 0.16 0.17 0.11 0.18 0.11 0.13 0.07 0.15 0.30 0.16 0.28 0.21 0.06 0.05 0.09 0.11 0.09 0.06 0.07 0.10 0.13 0.07 0.13 0.13 0.17 0.11 0.12 0.06 0.19 0.16 0.08 0.11 0.10 0.24 0.06 0.14 0.27 0.08 0.19 0.14 0.09 0.13 0.10 0.11 0.16 Nickel (%) 0.62 0.84 0.29 0.74 0.69 0.42 0.40 0.67 0.71 0.46 0.46 0.49 0.50 0.60 0.83 0.52 0.63 0.52 0.52 0.58 0.41 0.19 0.49 0.55 0.72 0.60 0.51 0.53 0.37 0.57 0.29 0.43 0.37 0.27 0.27 0.61 0.66 0.53 0.45 0.51 0.37 0.65 0.46 0.61 0.49 0.45 0.76 0.61 Hole MTAC277 including MTAC278 MTAC279* MTAC280 MTAC281 MTAC282 MTAC286 MTAC287 MTAC288 MTAC290 MTAC291* MTAC292* MTAC293* MTAC294 including MTAC296* MTAC297* MTAC302 MTAC303* MTAC304* MTAC306* MTAC307* MTAC308* MTAC309* MTAC310* MTAC311 including MTAC315 including MTAC316* MTAC317 MTAC318* MTAC319 MTAC320 MTAC321 MTDD1 MTDD2 MTDD3 MTDD4 including and MTDD5 including MTDD6 MTDD7 From (m) To (m) 48 45 18 35 39 7 37 30 22 21 28 32 35 28 21 18 26 20 29 29 32 30 26 32 29 23 31 23 37 32 38 9 35 36 37 50 28 29 19 95.5 27 91 50 45 41 46 Width (m) 9 6 6 13 7 2 12 2 4 7 3 7 2 8 13 10 11 3 8 2 4 5 2 11 6 2 10 2 7 2 6 1 5 3 3 5 10 20 12 77.5 9 32 13 8 17 19 Cobalt (%) 0.17 0.22 0.08 0.14 0.13 0.09 0.16 0.09 0.12 0.10 0.09 0.13 0.16 0.12 0.15 0.18 0.15 0.15 0.21 0.09 0.14 0.15 0.15 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.07 0.13 0.08 0.12 0.11 0.09 0.14 0.17 0.12 0.09 0.20 0.16 0.22 0.19 0.28 0.27 0.37 0.59 0.17 0.12 Nickel (%) 0.83 0.88 0.51 0.48 0.87 0.16 0.61 0.44 0.41 0.28 0.40 0.57 0.55 0.54 0.63 0.58 0.53 0.72 0.31 0.54 0.73 0.52 0.42 0.64 0.58 0.67 0.61 0.66 0.52 0.54 0.42 0.23 0.62 1.19 0.69 0.61 0.72 0.57 1.06 1.00 0.74 1.29 0.78 0.87 0.72 0.83
28 18 28 12 22 17 17
17
20 22 25 39 42 37 27 39 35 44 42 33 44 33 47 45 36 32 28 14
35 26 40 18 36 30 33 25 36 35 22 23 27 40 31 39 31 26 42 41 27 55 47 38 35 34 58 41
39
39
12 22 32 5 25 28 18 14 25 25 33 20 8
8
15 17 21 27 28 25 24 21 23 21 21
21
21 24 19 8 9 32 21 29 22 25 30
37
30
30
32 8 30 33 34
45 18 9 7 18 18 59 37 37 24 27
26 15 39 35 31 28 32
32
Note: *Denotes holes that end in mineralisation. Holes returning no significant assays or abandoned are excluded from table.
BARRA RESOURCES AR08
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