Vanadium explorer Tando Resources unearths further high-grade results at SPD

Tando Resources (ASX: TNO) has maintained the positive momentum at its flagship SPD vanadium project in South Africa with further high-grade insitu drilling results returning up to 1.67% vanadium pentoxide.

The company has received the first assay batch from its phase two drilling campaign at SPD, with the most notable intersection being 20m at 1.20% vanadium pentoxide from 86m, including 7m at 1.48% vanadium pentoxide.

Other intersections were 14m at 0.98% vanadium pentoxide from surface; 11m at 0.99% vanadium pentoxide from 17m, including 2m at 1.67% vanadium pentoxide from 25m; and 43m at 0.77% vanadium pentoxide from 18m, with a 10m higher grade interval comprising 1.17% vanadium pentoxide from 35m.

“What is notable about the above results is the consistency between the adjacent drill holes, both in analytical results and geological sequence, which should enable a high proportion of the mineral resource to be upgraded into the indicated category when the mineral resource is updated later in the first quarter of 2019,” Tando explained.

The results build on the maiden resource, which was published in December and totals 588 million tonnes at 0.78% vanadium pentoxide.

Within that resource is a higher-grade component of 80Mt at 1.07% vanadium pentoxide.

In addition to updating the resource to indicated status, the phase two infill drilling program will also assist Tando in identifying the higher-grade magnetite layers, which will boost selective mining potential at the project, resulting in less ore processing and mined waste.

According to Tando, the high-grade zones at SPD will be the company’s focus as it fast-tracks its near-term, low capital expenditure production opportunity.

Earlier this week, Tando revealed concentrating the ore generated vanadium grading above 2%.

The company used a davis tube to process drill samples and yielded 7m at 2.17% vanadium pentoxide from 3m, 35m at 2.11% vanadium pentoxide from 47m, and 24m at 2.16% vanadium pentoxide from surface, including 12m at 2.15% vanadium pentoxide and 2m at 2.20% vanadium pentoxide from 22m.

Additionally, Tando noted it had achieved mass recovery above 40% in the higher-grade drill intervals.

“These davis tube results confirm the potential to generate a high-grade vanadium product via simple magnetic separation,” Tando managing director Bill Oliver said on Monday.

The scoping study at SPD is advancing “rapidly” with metallurgical and engineering work “well advanced”.

From the recently completed phase two drilling campaign, only a few diamond core holes remain to be processed and analysed.