Surefire (ASX:SRN) reports maiden MRE of 38Mt aluminium oxide at Victory Bore - Kalkine Media

Highlights

• SRN fully owns the Victory Bore project, which already has a vanadium resource estimate of 321Mt @ 0.40% V₂O₅
• Surefire has reported that at surface, continuous and wide high-grade aluminium oxide has been estimated
• The company says this estimation marks an uptick in the value of the project situated near the Geraldton port

ASX-listed Surefire Resources (ASX: SRN) -- which owns the Victory Bore project near Perth -- has informed about maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of aluminium oxide at Victory Bore. SRN states that the resource estimation has marked an uptick in the value of the project, for which an economic Pre-Feasibility Study would be finalised by November this year.

The update by the company mentions that the aluminium resource is at surface, continuous and wide high grade.

Surefire comments that the aluminium oxide resource is in addition to the existing vanadium mineral resource estimate of Victory Bore.

Source: Company update

Company's ASX shares traded at AU$0.016 (market cap over AU$26 million) at the time of writing on 8 June 2023.

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Surefire completely owns its Victory Bore Project. The company has reported a maiden resource of aluminium oxide at the project where vanadium mineral resource already exists -- 321Mt @ 0.40% V₂O₅. Notably, the drilling program (reverse circulation) by SRN at the Victory Bore Project was completed in December last year. Here, total 62 holes were drilled (5,189m).

The program has delineated at surface, continuous and wide high-grade aluminium oxide mineral resource estimate as noted above. This resource, SRN highlights, is situated between wide high vanadium lodes - Main Lode and Central Lode.

The company also highlights that the discovery raises the value of the project. Economic Pre-Feasibility Study assessment at the project is expected to be done by November this year.

High Purity Alumina (HPA) potential

The maiden resource estimate is 17Mt @ 23.1% aluminium oxide. SRN mentions that this pertains to near surface measured and indicated component. It is further highlighted that potential future mining is expected to produce very less waste quantities because the vanadium and aluminium ores are mutually exclusive. It is stated that with magnetic beneficiation, aluminium can be removed from magnetite and vice versa.

Pre-Feasibility Study

The study is ongoing at Victory Bore in addition to the test work to extract 4N High Purity Alumina from the feedstock. The results of test work, SRN highlights, are encouraging until now. Grade and processing options would be identified over the next phase.

Source: Company update

The company has noted the demand for HPA as a critical mineral in the industrial sector including in LED lights, semiconductors, and smartphones industries. HPA also has use in the EV battery sector (as coating in separators to keep cathodes and anodes apart).