Media Release
27 January 2011

New licence for iron ore prospecting granted in Continental Shelf

Trans-Tasman Resources Ltd is delighted that an additional licence to prospect for iron ore in the Continental Shelf beyond the 12 mile territorial waters limit has been granted by Crown Minerals. The licence covers 3,314 sq kms and is for an initial term of four years.

Managing Director, Paul Berend, said the new licence, which shares a contiguous border along an existing Trans-Tasman licence on the southern Taranaki coastline, is highly prospective.

Trans-Tasman is prospecting for iron ore, titanomagnetite, on the seabed well offshore from the south Taranaki coast.

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The licence is conditional on Trans-Tasman completing a timetabled work programme supervised by Crown Minerals. This includes reconnaissance drilling, an aeromagnetic survey and beneficiation tests on samples. The New Zealand registered company has 48 months to complete an initial estimate of the mineral resource potential and submit that to the Minister.

“Our work to date indicates that the iron-rich sands extend out well beyond the 12 mile limit into the continental shelf area, and now that this licence to prospect has been granted we will be stepping up our prospecting work off the Taranaki coast,” Mr Berend said.

“While our low impact, shallow drilling programme will continue closer to the coast in Trans-Tasman’s Crown Minerals Act existing permit areas during this summer, the granting of the new licence means we will be extending our knowledge further out to sea through an additional aeromagnetic survey over the new area.

“This survey work will highlight areas of greatest ore concentration, and once these have been identified, further prospecting and analysis will begin.”
Mr Berend said that while regulatory requirements over the Continental Shelf are different from those required inside the 12 mile limit, the licence conditions are equally rigorous and prescriptive. “This will ensure that environmental values are well protected,” he noted.

ENDS

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