Zhilyanskoe
As announced on 22nd February 2011, Fortis Mining has entered into a binding Heads of Agreement to acquire the rights to the Zhilyanskoe Potash Deposit.
About the Deposit
The Zhilyanskoe Potash Deposit is located in the Aktobe Province, in the north western region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and is 8 km south east of the city of Aktobe. Aktobe is a regional capital with significant infrastructure, including railway and road networks connecting Asia and Europe, an international airport, high voltage power lines and high pressure oil and gas pipelines.
The area is secured by a binding contract, covering an area of approximately 88 sq km, for the exploration and production of potassium salt. The contract provides for an exploration period of 6 years and a production period of 45 years (including 4 years of processing plant development).
Information on the mineralisation is based on Soviet era grid lines between 1000m and 500m apart, with holes drilled between 100m and 200m along the lines. Potash mineralisation has been identified over an area 0.5 to 2 km wide and up to 5000m in length.
The mineralisation occurs between a depth of 430m and 700m below the surface on the western flank of an anticlinal structure. Drilling has defined a number of Sylvite, Polyhalite and Carnallite-Sylvinite and Sylvinite salt strata with a thickness between 22 and 36m that dips approximately 45° to the west.
Resource Figures
Note: Resource figures have been calculated from the former Soviet Union and the Republic of Kazakhstan Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources for the Deposit. These are not JORC standard resources and supporting documentation has not yet been verified by the Company in accordance with JORC Code, and it should only be considered at this stage indicative of the scale of the project the company is acquiring. The company’s main priority is to establish JORC standard Resources and Reserves for each deposit. The estimated exploration target ranges mentioned above for the Zhilyanskoe Salt Deposit should not be misunderstood or misconstrued as an estimate of Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves. The potential quantity and grade of exploration targets are conceptual in nature since there has been insufficient work completed to define them beyond exploration targets and that it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the determination of a Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve.
