Vancouver – After drilling more than 2,000 holes into its Koba project in Guinea Navasota Resources (NAV-V) has a bauxite resource in hand that has already surpassed 400 million tonnes and is set to grow again soon.
Navasota signed an earn-in agreement for the Koba property with a Guinean company two years ago. Now, after two drilling programs totalling almost 37,000 metres, Navasota has earned a 45% interest in the property and proven up a large bauxite deposit.
The new estimate pegs indicated resources at 343.2 million tonnes grading 42.78% Al2O3, 2.85% SiO2, and 27.83% Fe2O3. Inferred resources add 63.3 million tonnes grading 43.81% Al2O3, 2.74% SiO2, and 26.76% Fe2O3.
The resource estimate is based on a minimum mining thickness of 2 metres and a maximum stripping ratio of 3 to 1. The zones carrying indicated resources have seen drilling with 150-metre spacing; where the resources are classified as inferred drill holes are 300 metres apart.
It is already a large resource but Navasota expects it to grow by perhaps another 100 million tonnes shortly. That’s because a significant batch of assay results came in after the resource estimate data cut-off date. The estimate only used 82% of the holes from the Nomo plateau, which already carries the largest chunk of the deposit with 120 million tonnes; 56% of the holes from the Kouraidendeli plateau, which currently hosts 32 million tonnes; and no holes from the Sapi plateau. In addition, Navasota is still awaiting drill results from plateaus in the north part of the Gaoual permit. Once those results are in the company will update the resource.
Navasota currently has a contractor on site gathering samples for a bulk metallurgical test. The Koba bauxite deposits carry a higher bulk density value than is typically encountered in Guinea because the iron content is considerable. The impact of this high iron component is yet to be seen.
Otherwise the deposits are normal. Bauxite at Koba appears in blanket-type deposits typically five to eight metres thick but locally reaching 15 to 20 metres thickness.
Navasota had to spend US$2 million on exploration and hand over US$350,000 to earn its 45% interest in Koba. It now has the option to acquire the rest of the project (by way of acquiring the rest of the Guinean holding company) for US$15 million and 15 million shares.
The Koba project is within the Boke bauxite belt of northwestern Guinea. Navasota’s project is surrounded on all sides by bauxite projects.
Investors were nonplussed at the resource estimate, leaving Navasota’s share price unchanged at 30¢. The company has a 52-week trading range of 13.5¢ to 86¢ and has 56 million shares issued.
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