DRD Lease
The DRD Lease covers a surface area of approximately 34.2km2 and is located approximately 20km west of Johannesburg. The Lease is intersected by all reefs contained in the Central Rand Group, namely, the Main Reef, South Reef, Bird Reef, Kimberley Reef and Elsburg Reefs.
Raptor Target
The Bird Reef Group, predominately mineralised with uranium, was not mined at all on the DRD Lease, primarily due to the strategic focus of the previous lease owner, who embodied a specific focus on gold. This unmined reef provided for an excellent target, the Raptor Target.
The Company's initial exploration program for the Bird Reef Group was to test for near surface uranium mineralisation which may be conducive to open cut mining through a trenching and RC drilling program down to 70m. In addition, a deeper broadly spaced diamond drill hole program was designed to test the strike and depth potential for uranium mineralisation to a maximum 500 metres vertical depth.
The widely spaced RC and Diamond drilling program (on approximately 500m spaced north-south lines) was completed, which tested a strike length of 3.3km to a vertical depth of 500m. This program involved 4,000m of diamond drilling through 16 holes as well as 3,300m of RC pre-collars. Each drillhole intersected the Monarch and White Reefs which are the mineralised uranium and gold reefs respectively within the Bird Reef Conglomerate Group. This program confirmed the precise location of the Bird Reef Group (Monarch and White Reefs), the nature of the reefs (grade and width) and the continuity of the reefs down to approximately 500m below surface.
The program's uranium assays results, which were in line with historical grades, associated with production of 37m lbs of uranium across the Company's lease portfolio. The complete results from this program are detailed in Table 2. West Wits was also encouraged by the fact that comparable assay results were obtained from five (5) drillholes over a strike length of 3.3km.
Including both the surface mineralisation, as well as the deeper mineralisation, the conceptual target provided to the Raptor Target was 12.16 to 16.20m lbs of uranium and 460,000 to 565,000 ozs of gold.
The Company has developed a detailed follow up program to investigate the potential near surface and deeper uranium mineralisation including possible channelisation structures between 50m to 500m vertical depth.
DRD Lease : Uranium Results - Plan View - Click map to enlarge
Table 2 : Uranium Assay Results - Click here to view PDF
The gold assay results from the program confirmed anomalous gold mineralisation within the Bird Reef Group also. These results may allow gold to be considered as a co-product should the uranium mineralisation prove to be economic. These results can be viewed in Table 3.
Table 3 : Gold Assay Results - Click here to view PDF
DRD Lease : Gold Results - Plan View - Click map to enlarge
Marquise Resource
The Marquise Target, which is focused on a 6km section of near surface mineralisation in the Kimberley Reef. The current Marquise Resource which sits along a 700m section of reef currently has a JORC inferred gold resource of 16,000 ounces at an average grade of 1.72g/t, down to an average depth of 65m.
The Company tested the Marquise Resource for near surface mineralisation with the view to taking advantage of any open cut mining opportunities. Whilst previous owners of the DRD mine have extensively mined the reef at depth, it is the West Wits belief there may be open cut opportunities closer to surface, above the old workings.
The Phase 1 program consisted of a trenching program as well as a small RC program (down to 70m), testing the shallow mineralisation for any open cut opportunities on the Kimberley Reef. The initial results received encouraged the Company that near surface economic mineralisation at the Marquise Target may exist. With initial sampling from the trenches returning 5.1 g/t Au over 1.39m and 4.74 g/t Au over 1.1m, and results from the RC program returning 4.58 g/t Au over 3m. These results led to West Wits completing a follow up program to validate the near surface mineralisation.
The assay results from its follow-up drilling program announced in December 2008, further confirmed the near surface mineralisation at Marquise. The Phase 2 program consisted of 3 RC holes for 170m and 19 diamond holes for 1,163m targeting shallow mineralised zones to a vertical depth of 55m. The holes were completed on 100m section lines over a strike length of 700m (Figure 1). Significant assay results can be review in Table 1. This program provided the Company with enough geological confidence to achieve a 16,000 ounce JORC Resource.
The conceptual target for the Marquise Target was 13,000 - 17,000 ounces of gold.
Upon commencement of the next stage of review for the Marquise Resource, the Company will focus on the further understanding of the position of the high grade channelisation.
Table 1 : Gold Assay Results - Click here to view PDF
Marquise Target : Gold Results - Plan View - Click map to enlarge
Parallel Reef Targets
Commander Target
The Commander Target is focused on the Main, Main Reef Leader and South Reefs within the DRD Lease. These reefs were the most extensively mined reefs historically. As part of its deeper underground exploration strategy, West Wits will look to test existing mineralisation within parallel walls. It is the Company's belief significant mineralisation still exists between these parallel reefs structures and with improved mining methods is potentially extractable, as demonstrated by Central Rand Gold Limited who are undertaking this production strategy on the leases immediately adjacent to the Company's Project Area.
The presence of existing underground infrastructure provides the Company with numerous possibilities and significantly reduces the capital expenditure required to access the targeted underground areas. However, initial investigation will be completed through a surface drilling program.
Such access will enable detailed investigation and testing of parallel reefs and pillars remaining in situ after historical mining concluded. This investigation will include testing areas adjacent to the historically productive Main, Main Reef Leader and South reef formations, which intersect all the Company's leases.
Historical ownership and mining activities on the DRD
The DRD mine has had a long and illustrious history and was commonly referred to as the "Grand Old Lady". The mine was administered and managed by Rand Lease Gold Mining Company Limited (Rand Mines) from approximately 1897, after the Rand Mines shareholders began a systematic acquisition of the deep levels of many of the mines that started on the Central Rand from the strike extensions of the first discoveries at Langlaagte in 1886.
The mine had geology, sampling and survey departments which systematically recorded sampling information for exploration, development and stoping operations over the entire history of the mine. Much of this information was recorded onto cloth plans which were used by management for planning purposes. Importantly, the Durban Deep geologists were expert at defining the geology of the Kimberley Reefs since this multibanded unit has a number of conglomerate bands that are channelised and very variable in grade. The so-called 8-Band was a main stay of the mine and when Doornkop went into production in the 1980's there was much debate about which bands they were exploiting relative to the Durban Deep succession. For this reason, taking cognizance of the work and knowledge developed at Durban Deep will be crucial to guide the West Wits exploration work. The mine operated up until 1993 produced 21m ounces of gold.