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 NoSectionFromToIntppm
ZrO2
ppm
Nb2O5
ppm
TREO
ppm
HREO
HRC001108004863159949389723032028
HRC00210800162171
910334415725132230
HRCD003108002092201111049431626012254
HRC0069800691003110947458226102323
HRC00898001253419983395323282079
HRCD01310000791173810399417624752145
HRC015940028663811005453326332340
HRC0179400882161289381368022281986
HRC03396001441722810188407722151955
HRC038920080131519609386922932050
HRC0399200882281409630369522341979

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.