Brockman Project Exploration
During 2011 Hastings completed a 51-hole drilling programme comprising both reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling over the central 1.7km of the main Brockman Niobium Tuff deposit. All holes were collared as RC with eight holes having HQ3 drilled from the pre-collar. A total of 7443m of RC and 739m of diamond drilling were completed. The collar locations for these holes on a google earth image, below.
The use of a scintillometer during the drilling allowed a very accurate determination of the mineralised boundaries and due to the presence of thorium in the mineralised tuff unit anomalous values of +200 counts per second (cps) defined the mineralised intervals perfectly.
Drilling results proved the mineralisation to be reasonably homogenous with wider and/or higher-grade intervals as shown in the table below.
| Hole No | Section | From | To | Int | ppm ZrO2 | ppm Nb2O5 | ppm TREO | ppm HREO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HRC001 | 10800 | 48 | 63 | 15 | 9949 | 3897 | 2303 | 2028 |
| HRC002 | 10800 | 162 | 171 | 9 | 10334 | 4157 | 2513 | 2230 |
| HRCD003 | 10800 | 209 | 220 | 11 | 11049 | 4316 | 2601 | 2254 |
| HRC006 | 9800 | 69 | 100 | 31 | 10947 | 4582 | 2610 | 2323 |
| HRC008 | 9800 | 12 | 53 | 41 | 9983 | 3953 | 2328 | 2079 |
| HRCD013 | 10000 | 79 | 117 | 38 | 10399 | 4176 | 2475 | 2145 |
| HRC015 | 9400 | 28 | 66 | 38 | 11005 | 4533 | 2633 | 2340 |
| HRC017 | 9400 | 88 | 216 | 128 | 9381 | 3680 | 2228 | 1986 |
| HRC033 | 9600 | 144 | 172 | 28 | 10188 | 4077 | 2215 | 1955 |
| HRC038 | 9200 | 80 | 131 | 51 | 9609 | 3869 | 2293 | 2050 |
| HRC039 | 9200 | 88 | 228 | 140 | 9630 | 3695 | 2234 | 1979 |
On the basis of the drilling results Hastings commissioned the first JORC resource estimate for the Niobium Tuff deposit (see JORC Resource section).
Metallurgical Test Work Programme
Hastings has used independent consulting groups to progress metallurgical test work on the mineralisation with the immediate aim to validate and verify the work carried out by previous exploration companies that included the establishment of a pilot plant in the UK in the late 1980s.
Other Targets
In 2014 the Company drilled the Southern Extension of the main deposit with encouraging grades slightly higher than those from the main area. It also drill tested two targets based on regional radiometric data and follow-up geochemical sampling.