Alliance Mineral doubles lithium reserves at West Australian mine; tantalum ore reserves up 43%

LITHIUM ore reserves at the Bald Hill Lithium and Tantalum Mine in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia - which is owned through a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Catalist-listed Alliance Mineral Assets and Tawana Resources - have doubled, the miner said on Wednesday evening.

Alliance Mineral added that tantalum ore reserves increased by 43 per cent.

In a filing with the Singapore Exchange, the miner said: "The reserve upgrade reflects pit design changes resulting from increases to indicated resources, following infill drilling completed in the second half of 2017. Infill drilling at Bald Hill is continuing."

The upgraded reserves now support a mine life of nine years at the current processing rate of 1.2 metric tonnes per annum.

However, Alliance Mineral said that given the large quantity of inferred resources awaiting infill drilling, strong market demand and superior economics of increased throughput rates, "the JV partners are actively reviewing options for significant expansion in processing capacity and concentrate production".

Alliance Mineral shares finished S$0.005 or 1.4 per cent up at S$0.36 on Wednesday before the announcement.