HIGHLIGHTS
• Since completing the Achmmach DFS (announced to the ASX 31 March 2014) Kasbah has advanced multiple initiatives to further enhance the DFS base case financial model.
• Extensional drilling at the Western Zone (WZ) target at Achmmach has upgraded the Indicated Mineral Resource to 340kt @ 1.25% Sn for 4.2kt contained tin.
• WZ tin mineralisation now covers 235m of the Sidi Addi Trend strike, has multiple structures up to 8m wide, extends approximately 200m below surface and remains open along strike to the east and down dip. Geometry and economics are likely to now favour underground extraction.
• Metallurgical testwork on ore from the WZ has acheived 78% tin recovery. Kasbah intends to apply the WZ metallurgical enhancements to Meknes Trend ore with the aim of improving the overall recovery level achieved in the DFS.
• Integrating the Western Zone into the DFS as a higher grade underground target early in the mine schedule, metallurgical advancements to the Meknes ore and ultimate refinement of the Reserve and Life of Mine Plan could significantly enhance early stage cash flow, increase operating margins and reduce project capital requirements.
• These value adding programmes will be completed in Q1 2015. The company will extend the project financing process to take advantage of these potential project value-add opportunitites.
Kasbah Managing Director Wayne Bramwell said:
"The growing WZ resource and potential global improvements in metallurgical recovery have opened up new opportunities to improve cash flow in the critical early years of project development.
The enhancement programmes put in place can be completed quickly with minimal cost and give us the opportunity to significantly enhance the project economics at Achmmach.
Improving the project economics increases our options for project finance when negotiating with debt providers and offtake groups."
Since completion of the Achmmach DFS (announced to the ASX 31 March 2014) Kasbah has advanced a number of initiatives to further enhance the DFS base case financial model. The recent emergence of the WZ as a high grade and valuable component of the larger Achmmach Mineral Resource has provided further value add opportunity where the integration of the Western Zone into the DFS mine plan, application of metallurgical enhancements and the ultimate refinement of the mine Reserve could significantly enhance early stage cash flow and reduce project capital requirements.
A summary of the work programmes, opportunities and the potential benefits is provided below.
1 WZ metallurgy (ASX Announcement 16 October 2014) This programme of WZ metallurgical test work focussed on optimisation of the gravity and flotation processes within the existing DFS flow sheet. Through the optimisation of the gravity / flotation interface and the improvements in flotation selectivity, Kasbah successfully achieved tin recoveries from the WZ of 78%. The WZ metallurgical recovery achieved is significantly higher (78%) than that achieved from earlier Meknes Trend testwork (70.3%) and this testwork has refined processing parameters that can now be tested on Meknes ore, where the bulk of the mineable reserve exists.
2 WZ Resource Update (ASX Announcement 25 November 2014) Kasbah continued to drill the WZ Resource during Q2 and Q3 of 2014. These drilling programmes successfully extended the WZ resource across 235m of strike and to approximately 200m below surface. The WZ outcrops at surface but is open at depth. Therefore, ore body geometry and economics are likely to favour extraction of the WZ by underground mining – delivering higher grade, higher margin ore to the Achmmach mill and reducing the surface impact on the project.
