New Lanfranchi Resource For Brilliant, Panoramic

VANCOUVER — A new estimate has boosted the nickel resource at the Lanfranchi mine in Western Australia for joint-venture partners Panoramic Resources (PANRF-O, PAN-A) and Brilliant Mining (BMC-V).

Following almost 8,000 metres of drilling, the partners have increased the resource in the Deacon orebody by 39%. Deacon is now home to 2.44 million indicated tonnes grading 2.93% nickel, for a total of 157 million lbs. of nickel. The exploration program upgraded almost all of the old inferred resource to indicated status; inferred resources now stand at just 20,000 tonnes grading 2.03% nickel.

The 43-hole program extended Deacon’s downplunge extent by 250 metres. The partners are now working to convert the indicated resource to reserve status.

And the Deacon resource boost brings total resources at Lanfranchi to 4.14 million tonnes averaging 2.63% nickel. Specif ically, measured resources stand at 227,000 tonnes grading 2.93% nickel, indicated resources come in at 4.14 million tonnes averaging 2.63% nickel, and inferred resources add 1.18 million tonnes grading 1.53% nickel.

Panoramic owns 75% of Lanfranchi, while Brilliant holds the remaining 25%. Panoramic operates the mine, which sits 42 km south of Kambalda and resumed operations in 2005. From then until mid-2008, Lanfranchi produced 629,000 tonnes of ore averaging 2.44% nickel for 15,360 tonnes of nickel metal.

The joint-venture partners discovered the Deacon orebody in October 2006. Delineation drilling over the past two years to prove up the Deacon resource have more than doubled the total resources at Lanfranchi.

Mining at Lanfranchi is not yet tapping into the Deacon resource but is still focused on the Winner orebody. In the three months leading up to September, the Lanfranchi mine produced 81,634 tonnes of ore carrying an average grade of 2.93% nickel; from that, the Lanfranchi facility produced 2.26 million lbs. nickel.

For the 2008-09 production year, which runs from July to June, the Lanfranchi partners expect to mine 450,000 tonnes of ore and translate that into 15.2 to 16 million lbs. of payable nickel metal.

On news of the Deacon resource boost, Brilliant’s share price gained 3¢ to close at 23¢. The shares have a 52-week trading range of 7¢-$1.50 and the company has 73 million shares outstanding.