Operations

Kambalda

Lanfranchi Project – Underground Exploration

For the past few years Panoramic has focused underground exploration at the Lanfranchi Project on extensions to ore shoots within the three main channel systems:

•  Helmut (which contains the Deacon Orebody); 
•  Schmitz/Skinner/Winner; and   
•  Lanfranchi.

Drilling is typically conducted from dedicated drill platforms which are developed approximately 100 to 150 metres out into the hanging-wall above the channel positions. The three main channel systems at Lanfranchi and their existing resources have now been tested as far as possible from the existing hanging-wall drill platforms. New drill platforms will be developed in the coming years as deeper mine access permits.

The channels have varying metal endowments, but based on the historical production, tend to contain between 6,000 and 15,000 tonnes contained nickel per 100 metres vertical.  Assuming the three main channel systems continue down-plunge, it is estimated that if their extensions are drilled for 300 metres vertical below the current resources, approximately 80,000 tonnes of contained nickel could potentially be identified.

In 2009/10, underground exploration will focus on the Helmut channel with testing of the under-explored region between the Deacon and Helmut Orebodies, and extensional drilling in the immediate vicinity of Deacon. Drilling is also scheduled to test the area immediately to the west of the existing Lanfranchi Resource which remains open.

Deacon Orebody

In September 2008, drilling commenced to test the down plunge extensions to Deacon and to convert the inferred portion of the resource into a reserve.  The work culminated in the release of a revised Mineral Resource of 2.46 million tonnes grading 2.92% nickel for 71,800 tonnes contained nickel in January 2009. This was subsequently converted into a Mining Reserve of 2.5 million tonnes grading 2.52% nickel for 63,100 tonnes contained nickel in May 2009.

The Deacon Orebody will underpin future production at the Lanfranchi Project which, with favorable economics, should extend the life of the Project beyond 2016.  Based on the new Lanfranchi Life of Mine plan, it is anticipated that the Deacon decline development will be completed by 2012. This will provide full access to the Deacon Orebody and facilitate greater production flexibility. The deeper decline development will also allow development of a new hanging-wall drill drive, from which further down plunge drill testing of the highly prospective and metal endowed Helmut-Deacon channel system can continue.

Winner Orebody
 
Winner is located approximately two kilometres northwest of the Lanfranchi portal and up-dip of Schmitz. The Orebody is located 155 metres below surface and 170 metres above the existing Schmitz development. It has an elongated cigar shape with a flat dip of 30-40 degrees, typically 10-20 metres thick and 30-60 metres wide. The mineralisation is predominantly high grade massive sulphides on the basalt, ultramafic contact with minor disseminated sulphides hosted in the ultramafic.

Access to the small high grade Winner Orebody via a new portal and decline commenced in September 2006, with first ore delivered in October 2007. Mining was completed in August 2009. The Orebody was mined using the overhand cut and fill method with paste fill.

Lanfranchi Project – Surface Exploration

In the period from April to December 2008, Panoramic undertook a major surface exploration drilling program at Lanfranchi, comprising 80 drill holes for a total of 32,297 drill metres. The principal objectives of the program were the comprehensive testing of the prospective basal contact of the Kambalda Komatiite in areas where historical drilling was sparse, and to follow up known nickel and geophysical anomalies. The program, which was two thirds complete before being suspended due to the global financial crisis, tested areas on the southern and eastern flank of the Tramways Dome with the remainder on the northern margin of the Dome. This program will re-commence in 2009/10.

Northern Tramways Dome

In combination with earlier Panoramic drill holes, the latest drilling validates the overturned fold model for the northern Tramways area and has identified two overturned channel facies zones. The overturned channel zones are believed to be the continuation of the Helmut and the Schmitz/Skinner/Winner channels located on the southern flank of the Tramways Dome. Drill hole TD8042 located in the western most overturned channel returned the best intersection for the northern Tramways area of 1.2 metres of massive sulphide mineralisation grading 7.0% nickel.

Ham-Edwin Channel – South Tramways
 
A traverse of drill holes down plunge from Ham and Edwin returned several highly anomalous intersections and associated DHEM anomalies. Drill hole TD8069 returned 1 metre grading 6.35% nickel on the basal contact and is supported by an off-hole DHEM anomaly. Drill holes TD8072 and 8073 down plunge from West Edwin returned sub-proximal geochemical signatures and stringer sulphide mineralisation at the basal contact. The best intercept was 3.6 metres grading 1.32% nickel.

McComish East – South Tramways

Several holes drilled to the east of McComish returned highly encouraging results. In the area that WMC Resources referred to as the 5S Anomaly, drill hole TD8098 intersected 9.7 metres of disseminated mineralisation grading 1.3% nickel. The intersection was in channel facies komatiite on the basal contact and is supported by DHEM both in TD8098 and in adjacent drill holes. To the north east, drill hole TD8102A intersected a major channel-like structure containing proximal facies komatiites. A strongly conductive off-hole DHEM anomaly, consistent with massive sulphide mineralisation was reported on the basal contact of the hole.

Cowan Project (100% Panoramic, Nickel Rights only)

The Cowan Nickel Project is located in the Widgiemooltha- Higginsville-Chalice-Democrat region of the Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia and comprises two project areas over approximately 500 square kilometres.

The Cowan Nickel Project contains large tracts of Archaean greenstone belts that comprise ultramafic (komatiite), mafic volcanics (basalt) and sedimentary sequences.  The tenement package contains about 200 strike kilometres of komatiite volcanics that are interpreted as strike extensions or thrust repetitions of the sequence that host nickel sulphide deposits at Mariners, Miitel, Redross and Wannaway on the Widgiemooltha Dome, demonstrating the high prospectivity of the ground holding.  The nickel deposits belong to the economically significant class of komatiite-associated nickel sulphide deposits, which are well represented in the Kambalda and Widgiemooltha areas.  Previous exploration has focused on gold over the past twenty years, with only four nickel-orientated programs recorded in the project areas since the nickel boom of the late 1960s.  A significant opportunity has now been created through the application of modern geophysics, particularly time domain electromagnetics (EM), to the direct detection of nickel sulphide orebodies.
 
Panoramic continued to explore the Cowan tenement package during 2008/09, principally via the application of moving-loop electromagnetics (MLEM) over prospective ultramafic horizons. In the past twelve months, approximately 165 line kilometres of  MLEM survey have been completed at Cowan. The surveys have identified several electromagnetic anomalies that will require drill testing. Drill testing of the anomalies is scheduled to commence in October 2009.