Community

Dear Community Member,

Merry Christmas and I hope 2012 is a successful year for you and your family.

It has been a very busy year for Dart Mining, highlighted in my view by the community meeting in Corryong during August. It is very difficult to explore effectively without the support of the community in which you work and it was great to receive overwhelming community support for Dart Mining’s future plans including possible open cut mining. Dart Mining is very aware of its community obligations and will continue to keep the community informed of its activities. I encourage you to register on our website to receive regular updates.

It is intended that a further community meeting will be held early next year to update all stakeholders about Dart Mining’s plans for 2012, including its next planned drilling program scheduled to commence early autumn.

Dart Mining announced it’s maiden JORC compliant resource in October. This was a real milestone for the company which has been exploring in and around the Corryong area since 2007. As I mentioned at the Community meeting, a simple explanation of the JORC code is that there are a set of rules that govern how a company determines whether it has a deposit or not. It starts with a set of drill results that can be modelled into a three dimensional shape to give tonnes and grade (once there is a sufficient density of drill holes completed) to meet the JORC code requirements for inferred, indicated and measured. Dart Mining was able to announce both an inferred and indicated resource – basically step one and two on the “ladder” of confidence with what is actually in the ground, with step three being a measured resource.

With the announcement of the JORC resource for Unicorn, Dart Mining now has a deposit rather than an exploration project, which allows Unicorn to be compared to other deposits both within Australia and Overseas. Whilst there is still a lot of work to do before any decision to mine is made, Dart Mining remains encouraged by its progress and the relative strength of Unicorn to other Molybdenum deposits in Australia and Unicorns grades compare favourably with operating mines overseas. In line with best industry practise and as a further demonstration of Dart Mining’s commitment to the environment, a decision has been made to commission a report as to what would be required to establish a base line environmental study for the Unicorn deposit. This program would look at the environmental conditions that currently exist in and around Unicorn, with a particular focus on water quality. Should mining occur at Unicorn sometime in the future, then the pre-mining conditions will be known and any impact of mining will be easily determined. Once this report is received, Dart Mining will then determine how to best move forward with the report’s recommendations.

During 2011 Dart established a new core facility (at the Innovation Park) and office in Corryong.

Dart Mining needs to expand its drilling footprint to ensure it has a sufficient drill hole density throughout the deposit. Until now, all drilling has been carried out from the available fire trails with minimal disturbance to the surrounding forest. Going forward, Dart Mining will need to drill from areas that are not currently accessible from fire trails. As a result, what’s called a “Standard Work Plan” will be submitted to the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) which will enable Dart Mining to develop some additional tracks in and around the Unicorn area. These new tracks will be subject to a cultural heritage review and will be developed in conjunction with local DPI representatives. Dart Mining held a Board meeting in Corryong during November and met with Towong Shire Council representatives to provide them with an update of Dart Mining’s activities. It is important that Directors come to Corryong regularly to keep acquainted with the project, meet with Dart Mining employees and community representatives as well as visit Unicorn. In closing, the Christmas / New Year period is a great opportunity to spend time with family and friends – please take your time on the roads and stay safe. I look forward to keeping you informed of Dart Mining’s activities throughout 2012.

Linsday Ward
Managing Director

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Field Work Underway

Dart Mining plans to re-commence drilling at the Unicorn Project early in 2012.  In preparation for the program Dart has been talking to a number of government departments to gain approvals for the construction of drilling access tracks, a water bore licence and the completion of an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP).  Any works that require track construction in state forest require a number of approvals.  Track construction work can require the preparation of a CHMP to ensure any potential for Aboriginal artefacts is recognised and assessed prior to the works commencing.  As part of the approvals process it is also necessary to access the impact of the proposed work on local flora and fauna and ensure minimal impact.  All track works are designed in close consultation with the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) who are the local land managers.  After approvals are received from the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), Dart is able to commence the track construction and drilling programs.  

While awaiting approvals, Dart has been carrying out further regional exploration following up the interpretation of a major regional exploration program.  This interpretation highlights the prospectivity of the Unicorn – Morgan mineralisation corridor and recommends detailed evaluation of a number of targets surrounding the Unicorn and Morgan porphyry projects that may represent similar deposits.  Dart is very excited to be back on the hunt for new mineralisation and will use the knowledge gained from the Unicorn discovery to look for similar patterns in our regional exploration results during 2012.

 

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Board meets in Corryong

^{Left-Right: Chris Bain, Lindsay Ward, Dean Turnbull, Richard Udovenya}

During a recent site visit by the directors of Dart Mining, a meeting was held with the Mayor and the CEO of Towong Shire to provide a project update and Dart’s plans for 2012.  The meeting took place at the Innovation Park facility which provides an ideal venue adjacent to the Dart Core Store. Dart keeps in regular contact with the Towong Shire to ensure all interested parties are up to date with current and planned activities of the company.

Molybdenum
Molybdenum is both a traditional and new age / future metal with unique characteristics. Its primary use is as an essential metal in the manufacture of steel where it adds strength, hardness and toughness as well as increasing steel’s resistance to corrosion.  Molybdenum also has a range of chemical uses including acting as a catalyst to remove impurities such as sulphur in crude oil production as well as the paint and plastics industries. Molybdenum has a growing use in the renewable energy sector where it is used in the manufacture of solar panels and has a potential use as the electrode plate for the separation of hydrogen and oxygen to produce hydrogen energy.  Molybdenum is also used in nano technologies to make electrical goods smaller. Molybdenum is traded on the LME and has a worldwide demand of ~ 220,000 tpa that is growing at 5% pa.

Future
The immediate task is to undertake another drilling program to upgrade the resources at Unicorn from Indicated and Inferred to Measured Indicated and Inferred. This drilling is anticipated to increase the total resource size. In addition a scoping study will be completed to confirm the economic strength of the deposit.

It is intended that following the completion of the initial 2012 drilling program that the Unicorn project would move to the pre-feasibility stage towards future mining.