- Perpetual Resources (PEC) has provided a positive update to its shareholders on key milestones in the last three months and future developments
- The company completed an aircore drilling program at its Beharra Project in WA which led to an inferred maiden mineral resource estimate
- While Perpetual is pleased with this, the company is now looking to convert the mineral resource to the “Indicated” category
- Following this, Perpetual began a pre-feasibility study for the Beharra Project to improve its economics
- Additionally, Perpetual acquired Sargon North which sits adjacent to its existing Sargon Project in WA
- The Sargon North area holds potential the for yellow-orange sands and will complement the overall Sargon project area
- Perpetual will spend the remainder of the year advancing exploration and studies at Beharra while determining Sargon’s sands potential for proposed sale arrangements
- Shares in Perpetual Resources are currently trading flat and trading for 3.8 cents each.
Perpetual Resources (PEC) has provided an update to its shareholders on key milestones and future developments.
Most positively, Perpetual intended to advance its projects despite disruptions caused by COVID-19 and the silica sands company delivered on its goal.
Perpetual completed a maiden aircore drilling program at the Beharra Project in Western Australia. This program comprised 40 holes for 506.7 metres and allowed the company to calculate a maiden mineral resource estimate.
The Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate
On July 22, the company released a maiden mineral resource estimate for the Beharra Project. The silica sands project has an inferred mineral resource estimate of 111.3 million tonnes at 98.6 per cent silicon dioxide.
Additionally, an exploration target of between eight to 13 million tonnes, grading between 97 to 99 per cent silicon dioxide, was also estimated. This target extends beneath the mineral resource to the north and is conceptual.
“The maiden mineral resource estimation and exploration target has provided us with a compelling investment case for proceeding with a pre-feasibility study across the project,” Managing Director, Robert Benussi said at the time.
The Pre-feasibility Study
At the end of July, Perpetual announced it had commenced a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the Beharra Project.
The PFS is being conducted to improve Beharra’s economics, leading up to a decision to fund the project.
The PFS will cover mining and civil work requirements, metallurgy logistics, and processing plant design and analysis. Perpetual expects the study will be completed by December this year.
Sargon North Project, WA
In early May, Perpetual Resources entered an option agreement to purchase Sargon North which lies adjacent to its existing Sargon Project in WA. Acquiring Sargon North brought the company’s total Sargon exploration licence area to 48 square kilometres.
The purchase was acquired with a $500 fee but will only be finalised after $11,500 from the previous spending is reimbursed before the end of the year.
Perpetual was attracted to the yellow-orange sands that Iluka Resources’ previous drilling identified.
Future work
For the rest of the year, Perpetual aims to complete an extensive metallurgical program at Beharra. This will hopefully increase confidence in product quality and lead to marketing samples for offtake discussions.
Perpetual is specifically targeting silica sand end users in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
While the maiden inferred mineral resource was a huge milestone, the company plans to convert this to the “Indicated” category through further testing and analysis. Furthermore, the PFS will be completed and a mining licence application will be submitted.
As Beharra is progressing well, Perpetual is also focused on the Sargon and Sargon North areas. The company believes the ‘Sargon Hub’ may host an attractive construction sand resource with domestic and export market potential.
The next steps for the Sargon Project include exploration work to determine its sand potential, commence detailed metallurgical activities to confirm product quality and explore potential sale and marketing arrangements.
Shares in Perpetual Resources are currently trading flat and trading for 3.8 cents each.