The deposit has been followed along strike northeast to southwest and has been intersected on a further five drill lines at this time. Lines have been drilled with approximately 2.5- to 3-km spacing, as allowed by access. Drilling has so far delineated continuous high-grade mineralization over a distance of at least 13 km. The prospect has been closed off to the south east, but presently remains open to the northwest.

Lines have been drilled across strike with an air core rig, with holes spaced 50 m apart and closing down to 25 m spacing across the high-grade zone. Assay samples have been collected from 1.5-m intervals through the deposit.

Assay results have delineated a highgrade zone based on a 3% cut-off which is 4.9-m thick across 135 m true width averaging 15.4% heavy mineral. At a 1% cut-off over the same width the line averages 10.9% heavy mineral over an increased thickness of 7.5 m. There is on average 23 m of overburden above the mineralization. Slimes levels (material less than 53 microns) are low at 2% which is highly conducive to mining.

The Atlas discovery is located 6 km southwest of the Campaspe deposit, for which an inferred resource has been previously announced of 113 million mt at 4.5% heavy mineral giving 5.02 million mt of contained heavy mineral. The company said the close proximity of the new Atlas deposit greatly adds to the existing commercial attractiveness of this area.

According to Bemax, previous exploration drilling in this area has typically been wide-spaced or shallow and it is believed there is a significant potential for further discoveries like Atlas in this region. While the mineralogical data from Atlas is presently unavailable, the deposit’s mineralogy is expected to be similar to Campaspe which has a mineral assemblage consisting of 13% zircon, 12% rutile and 55% ilmenite.

Bemax said its corporate objective is to become a global supplier of high-value zircon and rutile products within the next few years. The company successfully developed the Ginkgo mine in the Pooncarie province in recent years and has both the necessary approvals and funding in place to commence development of the nearby Snapper mine and expand the mineral separation plant located at Broken Hill. Bemax is also is also reviewing options to expand production of heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) to around 1 million mt/y from its Murray Basin operations.