Applied Minerals, Inc. Provides Summary of Updated Resource Statement for Its Dragon Mine Property
Total Measured and Indicated Clay Resource Increases 33.0% to 2.8 Million Tons Approximately 630,000 Measured Tons of Pure Halloysite Have Been Identified Measured Iron Oxide Resource Increases 57% to 3.3 Million Tons Deep Drill Results Indicate the Presence of Precious Metal Mineralization
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Oct 15, 2013) - Applied Minerals, Inc. (the "Company", "Applied Minerals") (OTCQB: AMNL) (OTCBB: AMNL), a leading global producer of halloysite clay and high-grade iron oxide, is pleased to provide an update on the results of the drilling program being conducted at its Dragon Mine property with respect to its clay and iron oxide resources. The current program has been a continuation of previous drilling activity, carried out primarily from 2003 through the end of 2010, the results of which were disclosed in April 2011. Ian Wilson, PhD, consulting geologist, has supervised the Company's drilling program since 2007 and has authored both the April 2011 report and the October 2013 update. The Company plans to make the updated resource statement available on its corporate website.
Dragon Mine Clay Resource
Since the end of 2010 the Company has drilled an additional 20 boreholes, representing 10,500 ft. of core, in the Dragon Mine's Dragon Pit and Western Area sections, with the intention to expand the size of the Dragon Mine resource. This additional drilling has increased the total clay resource size to approximately 2.8 million tons, representing a 33% increase in the resource size reported in April 2011. Of the 2.8 million tons of clay identified, approximately 2.2 million tons are classified as measured, representing an increase of 193% in the measured resource reported in April 2011. The additional drilling has also enabled the Company to classify approximately 630,000 tons of our measured clay resource as pure halloysite.
Dragon Pit Resource
The drilling program in the Dragon Pit was expanded from 36 to 55 boreholes, representing approximately 10,400 ft. of additional core. The additional drilling has identified approximately 1.2 million measured tons of clay, a 116% increase in the measured clay resource reported in April 2011. The expanded drilling has also enabled us to classify approximately 630,000 tons of our measured resource as pure halloysite. As can be observed from a comparison of the following two tables, the additional drilling carried out since the end of 2010 has enabled the Company to both increase and upgrade the clay resource in the Dragon Pit.
October 2013 Resource Statement Update | |||||||||||||||
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| Average Clay Content (%) | ||||||||||
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| Illite-Smectite |
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| Pure Halloysite |
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565,575 | Mix | 42.63 | 19.16 | 11.59 | 73.38 | ||||||||||
1. A measured resource, according to JORC, is an indicated resource that has undergone enough further sampling that a 'competent person' (defined by the norms of the relevant mining code; usually a geologist) has declared them to be an acceptable estimate, at a high degree of confidence, of the grade, tonnage, shape, densities, physical characteristics and mineral content of the mineral occurrence. |
April 2011 Resource Statement | |||||||||||||
Area | Acres | Resource | Clay (tons) | Average Clay Content (%) | |||||||||
Halloysite | Kaolinite | Illite-Smectite | Total | ||||||||||
Dragon Pit | 4.95 | Measured | 552,500 | 64.8 | 18.0 | 10.6 | 93.4 | ||||||
Western Area Resource
The Western Area resource is primarily a halloysite, kaolinite and illite-smectite mixture. Since 2003 45 boreholes have been drilled in the area representing 9,540 ft. of core. The resource contains approximately 863,000 measured tons of clay material of a
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Western Area |
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Surface Piles On the Dragon Mine property there exists five surface piles that are the result of prior clay mining operations between 1949 and 1976 carried out by Filtrol Corp. The clay mined during this period was used primarily as a carrier of a cracking catalyst. Any clay mined for the catalyst application that contained more than 2% iron oxide was deemed unusable and placed into the surface piles. The surface pile material contains a variation of clays that the Company believes may be processable into a salable product. The table that follows describes the results of the drilling program carried on the surface piles and previously reported in April 2011. The possibility exists that the waste piles (unrefined) could be utilized as a source of clay and iron for cement manufacturing. In this case, the entire pile would be salable. The total tonnage represented by the surface piles is approximately 4.5 million tons. A full chemical, mineralogical and trace element analysis has been performed on the surface piles and is available as part of the complete updated resource statement. Commercial Markets The Company has developed a number of products based upon its Dragon Mine clay mineral. These products are being marketed to the following application markets: Dragon Mine Iron Oxide Resource The Dragon Mine's Dragon Pit and Western Area also contain an iron oxide resource. The resource is composed primarily of high purity iron oxide (Fe2O3 content), low trace element hematite and goethite. The high Fe2O3 content and low trace element characteristics of this resource open up a number of applications areas to which it can be marketed. In particular, the pigment and technical markets present a number of attractive commercial opportunities. The Company is currently marketing or plans to market a range of iron oxide products within the following markets: The drilling activity at the Dragon Pit and the Western Mine, used to determine the size of the Company's clay resource in those areas, has also been used to determine the size and quality of its iron oxide resource. The total iron oxide resource size has increased over 18% to 3.3 million tons and the number of measured tons has increased 57%. The tables that follow highlight the increase in the size and grade of the Company's iron oxide resource. The following table highlights the Fe2O3 content of the iron oxide resource in both the Dragon Pit and Western Area as well as the very low presence of trace elements. Deep Drill Program As part of the Company's drill program carried out to expand and upgrade its halloysite and iron oxide resource in the Dragon Pit area of the property, the Company hired a contractor to continue the drilling of a hole from the 1,018 ft. level to the 3,218 ft. level. According to Ian Wilson, the chemistry of the polymetallic sulphide mineralization intersected by a deep hole drilled in the Dragon Pit shows a silver and tellurium signature that would increase the economic value of any body of mineralization that might eventually be proved by further drilling at the Dragon Mine. Approximately 174 samples from the deep drill core were sent to ALS Limited, a leading full-service provider of testing services for the global mining industry, for gold assay and trace-element analyses. In the Dolomite Sequence there were visible specks of pyrite between 2,000 - 2,200 ft. of depth. In the Ophir Sequence, there were several zones of visible pyrite, and some galena and sphalerite. No visible chalcopyrite was noted but the presence of blackish minerals associated with galena, pyrite and sphalerite was observed. The ALS results showed significant levels of precious metals and other elements, including gold (Au), silver (Ag), arsenic (As), bismuth (Bi), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), tellurium (Te) and zinc (Zn) from 2,056.5 - 2,166 ft. levels. On the basis of the identification of certain encouraging trace elements in the samples, a series of samples were sent to Dr. Christopher Halls of the Natural History Museum in London (U.K.) where a detailed mineralogical investigation took place. Dr. Halls' XRD analyses of the samples detected peaks for pyrite, galena, sphalerite and strong peaks for tennantite. Minerals of the tennantite-tetrahedrite group are sulphosalts and are recognized as important carriers of silver. About Applied Minerals Applied Minerals' wholly-owned Dragon Mine also contains a high-grade iron oxide resource consisting of Goethite and Hematite. Combining ultra-high purity and consistent quality, the inherent properties of iron oxide from the Dragon Mine allow for a wide range of end uses in pigment and technical applications Safe harbor statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for Applied Minerals, Inc.: Some statements contained or implied in this news release may be considered forward-looking statements, which by their nature are uncertain. Consequently, actual results could materially differ. For more detailed information concerning how risks and uncertainties could affect the Company's financial results, please refer to Applied Minerals' most recent filings with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information.
Applied Minerals is the leading producer of halloysite clay solutions from its wholly-owned Dragon Mine property in Utah. Halloysite is aluminosilicate clay that forms naturally occurring nanotubes. In addition to serving the traditional halloysite markets for use in technical ceramics and catalytic applications, the Company has developed niche applications that benefit from the tubular morphology of its halloysite. These applications include carriers of active ingredients in paints, coatings and building materials, environmental remediation, agricultural applications and high-performance additives & fillers for plastic composites. Additional information on the company can be found on our company website at www.appliedminerals.com.
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| Clay Content (%) | |||||||||||
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1 | 7.9 | Measured | 454,377 | 19.4 | 154,500 | 41.8 | 25.8 | 9.4 | 77.0 | ||||||||
2 | 5.3 | Indicated1 | 358,549 | 20.2 | 127,100 | 19.0 | 33.6 | 27.8 | 80.4 | ||||||||
3 | 13.1 | Indicated | 844,273 | 20.02 | 298,900 | 9.8 | 30.7 | 24.9 | 65.4 | ||||||||
4 | 1.8 | Indicated | 118,586 | 15.9 | 33,280 | 13.2 | 31.7 | 31.8 | 76.7 | ||||||||
5 | 5.9 | Indicated | 375,063 | 21.6 | 144,100 | 13.5 | 31.8 | 36.5 | 81.8 | ||||||||
Total | 34.0 | 2,151,298 | 757,880 | ||||||||||||||
1. Indicated resources are simply economic mineral occurrences that have been sampled (from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits and boreholes) to a point where an estimate has been made, at a reasonable level of confidence, of their contained metal, grade, tonnage, shape, densities, physical characteristics. |
2. Pile 3 - refined to |
Flame Retardants - Partial replacement for ATO; synergist with ATH and MDH
Nucleating Agents - Effective nucleating agent for polyethylene and other resins
Coatings and Additives - Reinforcing filler and adhesion promoter in coatings, adhesives and thermosets.
Cosmetics - Range of products utilizing the unique characteristics of the Company's clay mineral resource are being developed with an R&D and marketing partner.
Other Markets - Catalysts, technical ceramics, environmental remediation and controlled release are other application markets being pursued.
Pigments
Construction - roofing, brick, mortar
Ceramics
Flame retardants
Animal feed
Coatings - dispersion, wood stain, primer
Foundry
Technical
Water purification
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) scavenging
October 2013 Resource Statement Update | |||||||||||||
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| Average Content of Hematite, Goethite and LOI (%) | |||||||||
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| Hematite + Goethite |
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Dragon Pit |
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Western Area |
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Total | 11.28 | 3,302,275 | |||||||||||
April 2011 Resource Statement | |||||||||||||
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| Average Content of Hematite, Goethite and LOI (%) | |||||||||
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Dragon Pit |
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Western Area |
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Total | 11.28 | 2,792,300 | |||||||||||
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Dragon Pit |
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Western Area |
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