Black Fire Minerals drilling targets up to 9Mt tungsten at Pilot Mountain

Black Fire Minerals (ASX: BFE) has commenced a highly anticipated 4,000 metre diamond drilling program at the Desert Scheelite Prospect within the Pilot Mountain Tungsten-Copper Project located in Nevada, USA.

The program is aiming to provide confirmatory assay and geological information to bring the historic database at Desert Scheelite into a maiden JORC Resource by the end of June 2012. First assay results are expected in early January 2012.

At a time of high tungsten demand and corresponding high prices, Black Fire has set initial an exploration target for the three advanced prospects (Desert Scheelite, Gunmetal & Garnet) of 7-9 million tonnes at 0.30–0.37% tungsten oxide (WO3) with good potential for copper and silver credits.

The target is based the available historic data compiled by Union Carbide Corporation. A total of 11 other prospect areas are currently known within the licence area providing good exploration upside potential.

The program will comprise up to 18 holes to twin and infill selected historic holes that were drilled predominantly on 33 metres x 33 metres centres.

The Desert Scheelite Prospect is one of three advanced prospects at the Pilot Mountain Project which were historically extensively drilled and subjected to mining feasibility studies by Union Carbide during the early 1980’s.

In addition, the prospect was also trial mined with the successful extraction of a 70,000 ton bulk sample.

Union Carbide “mothballed” the project in the mid 1980’s in response to a significant fall in tungsten prices at that time and there has been no significant exploration undertaken since.

Originally published at: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/22978/black-fire-minerals-drilling-targets-up-to-9mt-tungsten-at-pilot-mountain-22978.html