Geologists conducting field work on gold-rich gossan outcrops at the project.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHistory of Cyprus as a major mining destination<\/h3>\n Many Cypriots had grandfathers who worked in the more than 45 mines developed, and had fond memories of their time prior to the political upheaval in the 1970s. Although this upheaval was short-lived, many who left never returned.<\/p>\n
Cyprus benefited from European stimulus money after the global financial crisis (having joined the EU in 2004) and you can see the benefits of this for a relatively small population: wind farms, four-lane motorways, and excellent infrastructure for a population of around 1.1 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand the government is positive on the future benefits mining can bring, provided it is done in a low-impact way and can predominantly employ local Cypriots,\u201d Mr Muers stated.<\/p>\n
Despite up to 1.5km of adits put in historically at AEN\u2019s projects (1950s), very little ore was extracted as the treatment technology of the company at the time could not manage the more complex sulphides that were encountered – they were focused on oxide ore.<\/p>\n
Whilst metallurgical work is yet to be carried out, AEN has confidence it can recover valuable metals due to the improvements in flotation technology since the 1980s.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the petrography work that has been done, partly by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, who share our view on prospectivity of the area, we can see coarse-grained chalcopyrite and cobaltite present, which should be recoverable from the pyrrhotite (iron-sulphide) rich ore,\u201d Mr Muers commented.<\/p>\n
\u201cTypically, the copper, gold, and nickel\/cobalt are recovered to a high-value concentrate, which is then shipped in containers via bitumen roads less than 45 minutes to the nearby port, close to EU smelters.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Cyprus enjoying the benefits of a resumption in tourism, and a construction boom led by a large number of high-rise developments in the south, obtaining skilled workers appears to be a potential challenge. However, this is not the case.<\/p>\n
Mr Muers stated: \u201cCyprus being part of the EU benefits from the pool of skilled labour in the region, so we envisage both taking advantage of this whilst also recruiting and training up local Cypriots with the skills to help develop the future mining industry on the island.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Indication of near-surface mining<\/h3>\n AEN have around 40km of strike length covering the contact zone between the ultramafics and the intrusive rocks (diorite\/gabbro etc.), and plan to fly geophysics to better ascertain additional areas to focus on. With a major transform-fault (plate boundary) bisecting the tenement area, parallels are apparent with other global deposits such as Bou Azzer in Morocco (one of the highest-grade cobalt mines in the world), the Ni-Co-Au deposits of the Ural Mountains, and those in Finland, for example.<\/p>\n
Such deposits are typically not depth-constrained, thus, with the aid of geophysics such as down-hole EM and some deeper drilling, AEN hopes to be able to demonstrate the tonnage potential by proving this depth theory over time.<\/p>\n
The strategic importance of the potential for a cobalt-rich resource to be defined within Europe is also not lost on AEN.<\/p>\n
\u201cCobalt is up about 60% since we acquired the project, and nickel is also doing very well, so even if we proved up a relatively modest resource containing a few thousand tonnes of cobalt, this would be highly sought after in the battery factories, as an alternative to Chinese supply often sourced from the DRC.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although it will be a while until AEN can demonstrate mine potential, they are encouraged by the data generated to date and made this comment in respect to the unique nature of the prospect:<\/p>\n
\u201cHigh grade deposits like this, with three or four potential revenue streams in high value metals such as nickel, cobalt, and copper, can prove very profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another benefit is the potential for a low-CapEx, small-scale underground mine with a low footprint and resultant environmental impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe might be talking two or three trucks approximately every half hour, taking ore from satellite underground mines to a central plant. When you have ore values up to $2,000\/t or potentially more, volume becomes less important – grade is king as they say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Please note, this article will also appear in the eleventh edition of our\u00a0<\/i><\/strong>quarterly publication<\/b><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Aeramentum Resources plans to undertake diamond drilling at the Treasure Project, following on from previous exploration demonstrating high grades of nickel, copper, cobalt, and gold in drilling and sampling. Australian mineral exploration company Aeramentum Resources (ASX: AEN) intends to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in 2022. The company aims to publish an exploration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":23278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24204],"tags":[529,24335,24161,24411],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Aeramentum Resources: Leading diamond drilling at the Treasure Project<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n