Gippsland focuses on world-scale projects which have been over-looked by major resource groups. Projects which have undergone detailed exploration and which have the potential to be brought into production quickly are a prime target for the Company. Gippsland's success in this area is due in part to the Company's philosophy of entering into equitable joint venture arrangements with overseas nationals. The Company's prime assets are the 40 million tonne Abu Dabbab and the 98 million tonne Nuweibi tantalum-tin projects located in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt, adjacent to the western shore of the Red Sea.
Gippsland to obtain Canadian resource estimates for tantalum deposits in Egypt
Australian-listed resource company Gippsland (ASX: GIP, FRA: GIX) has commissioned an independent geological consultant to prepare a Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Report in relation to its Abu Dabbab and Nuweibi tantalum deposits in Egypt.
The report will comply with the reporting requirements set forth in the Canadian National Instrument 43-101, Companion Policy 43-101CP, and Form 43-101F1.
While the Australian JORC Code classification is accepted worldwide, the North American market is in general more familiar with, and tends to rely more upon, the broadly similar Canadian 43-101 classification in relation to Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves.
Jack Telford, director and CEO said "the preparation of a Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves Report compliant with Canadian 43-101 classification will greatly assist in positioning the company in the North American capital markets and in marketing the company's tantalum products to North American customers, and elsewhere."
Gippsland's 44.5 million tonne Abu Dabbab and 98 million tonne Nuweibi deposits currently comply with the JORC Code.
Abu Dabbab is located within the Central Eastern Desert in Egypt about 16km inland from the western shore of the Red Sea.
Nuweibi is located 17km to the south-southwest of the Abu Dabbab deposit and 30km inland from the western shore of the Red Sea.
Through its 50% owned subsidiary Tantalum Egypt JSC, Gippsland owns the Abu Dabbab tantalum-tin-feldspar project and the nearby Nuweibi tantalum-feldspar deposit.
Gippsland has completed a Definitive Feasibility Study for Abu Dabbab based upon a mill feed rate of 2 million tonnes per year producing in excess of 650,000 pounds of tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5), which will make it the world's largest tantalum miner.
The Abu Dabbab project will also produce approximately 1,530 tonnes of tin metal per year.
With a resource base in excess of 142.5 million tonnes, there is ample opportunity to increase production following commencement of operations scheduled for late 2012.
A detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been completed to World Bank standards.
Gippsland considers that the Abu Dabbab and Nuweibi deposits place the company in a unique and highly advantageous position in the global tantalum supply chain.
The project has been described by a leading electronics analyst as a "mega project" which is crucial to the reliable long-term supply of the strategic metal to the electronics and aviation industries.
Following the global financial crisis, world-wide tantalum sales decreased, however the past six months has seen a significant increase in feedstock demand from major tantalum refiners reportedly working to capacity, and a depletion of tantalum supply chain inventories.
Tantalum raw material shortages are now emerging with the spot market price increasing by more than 70% since December 2009. A shortage of tantalum capacitors is now also being reported.
Gippsland believes that Abu Dabbab and Nuweibi are unique as they alone have the resource base to meet the electronics industry's need for an ethical long-term source of this strategic metal.
