(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - Australia) IMX Resources (ASX: IXR, TSX: IXR, IXR.WT) has designed a detailed gravity survey to cover 100 square kilometres over the Ntaka Hill and Lionja ultramafic intrusions at the wholly owned Ntaka Hill Nickel Sulphide Project in Tanzania.
The survey will map the subsurface extents of these intrusions and identify the more dense mineralised portions of the intrusion.
IMX Resources said that historical targeting of nickel sulphide mineralisation at Ntaka Hill has focussed on massive sulphide zones represented by conductors identified using airborne and ground EM geophysical survey techniques.
The success of recent exploration in discovering new nickel sulphide mineralisation without these associated conductors has justified a case for undertaking systematic exploration using alternative techniques within the mineralised intrusive complex for sub 1% nickel zones.
With the company's improved understanding of the simple metallurgical characteristics in this high nickel tenor, low pyrrhotite, high pentlandite nickel sulphide system - it means that there is significant upside potential to this approach.
Recent exploration has also demonstrated that these wide disseminated nickel zones frequently contain lenses of above 1% nickel sulphides.
Plan: Survey Results
The results of the gravity survey will be integrated with the results from an induced polarisation survey completed in August 2012 and soil sampling, to identify new mineralisation targets that do not rely solely on the presence of strong conductors.
It is expected that the use of new geochemical and geophysical survey techniques will enhance exploration success during 2013 as the Company seeks to rapidly increase its resource base at Ntaka Hill.
Metrics: Ntaka Hill
The plan for Ntaka Hill is the production of a premium nickel sulphide concentrate which has already been demonstrated. The ESIA is currently under preparation with approval expected March 2013.
A Scoping Study identified 15 years mine life at 10 â€" 15,000 tpa nickel production, with cash costs US$5/lb,
The Pre-production Capex was confirmed at US$227 million. Â
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