TTR New Zealand iron sands resource estimate nearly doubled

TTR New Zealand iron sands resource estimate nearly doubled

WELLINGTON. August 15, 2011. Trans-Tasman Resources Ltd (TTR) is delighted to announce that a second official JORC compliant off-shore iron ore mineral resource has been signed off by Golders Associates, an independent geological consultant.

"The updated JORC compliant mineral resource in its licensed area is currently equivalent to 200 million tonnes of concentrate at 60% Fe. This is a substantial increase over the 102 million tonnes at 60% Fe announced in March this year," Managing Director, Paul Berend, announced today.

This includes 70 million tonnes at the 'indicated' class and the remaining 130 million tonnes is at the 'inferred' class. The JORC 'indicated' class reflects a higher level of confidence than the 'inferred' class and is less subject to interpretation.

Paul Berend said "The excellent quality of offshore drilling work, using Trans-Tasman's patented core-drilling rig and onshore sample management, has contributed markedly to this result. The quality data gathered has increased the mathematical confidence of the geological model, which has generated a larger than expected mineral resource."

This estimate is based on analysis of sand cores recovered from shallow drilling off the southern Taranaki Coast over 2010 and the summer of 2011 and is validated from aeromagnetic survey.

Mr Berend said that "while this is an outstanding result it remains an early estimate over a small percentage within the area currently pegged by the company.

"As the TTR drilling campaign unfolds we expect the mineral resource to increase very substantially in the coming months. To date drilling has been shallow, but as we further implement the recently instigated deeper drilling programme we expect that the resource estimates will increase markedly."

Chairman Bill Bissett added: "This result further boosts our confidence that the very substantial investment in prospecting for iron ore is likely to prove worthwhile. Given the vast expanse of underwater black sand we can expect to prove an ocean of iron ore," he said.

Trans-Tasman continues to grow as its prospecting activities expand into the Exclusive Economic Zone with the granting of an additional prospecting licence over 3,314 sq kms for an initial term of four years. Meantime onshore work to understand environmental, social and community implications of the project is well underway.

Trans-Tasman Resources Ltd (TTR) is a privately-owned New Zealand company. It was established in 2007 to explore, assess and develop the potential of the rich offshore iron ore deposits off the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Prospecting work to date suggests there is a vast world-class mineral resource which could supply Asian markets with a reliable supply of low-cost iron ore. In April 2010 Denham Capital Management, a global private equity firm that invests in the energy and commodities sectors, announced that it had made an equity investment in the company.

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