Sunrise Resources heads towards production at CS and steps up precious metal exploration

  What it owns CS Project, Nevada: The Plan of Operations envisages a 27-year mine life where both perlite and natural pozzolan are mined from the Main Zone in years 1-15 with pozzolan continuing to be mined in the Tuff Zone in years 16-27. NewPerl, Nevada: The NewPerl Prospect comprises a conical outcrop of glassy volcanic rock having a base diameter of approximately 400m and a height of up to 45m above the surrounding plain. Two key targets have now been identified for follow up where samples have shown excellent expandability results for horticultural grades of perlite. Jackson Wash, Nevada: 16km away from NewPerl, this was originally part of that project but for permitting reasons is now separate. The company also owns gold and silver projects including Clayton in Nevada and Bakers Gold in Australia. What it does "Natural pozzolans are experiencing a resurgence in demand based on their strong “green” credentials. "Today, pozzolans are used as a direct additive to concrete mixes and as a partial replacement for cement in amounts of up to 35% of the cementing material "Perlite is a glassy raw material which, when heated in a furnace, pops like popcorn and expands by up to 20 times in volume into a white or pale coloured, low-density material. "Expanded perlite is used in various industrial and household applications such as insulation, paint texturing, building materials, filter aids, insulating industrial cryogenic storage vessels and as a potting medium in gardening and horticulture to aid water retention and aeration of the soil." How its doing In April, a 500-tonne sample of pozzolan that was shipped to a large cement and ready-mix company is due to be ground by the end of March and will then be used in a number of commercial concrete pours. Sunrise has commissioned independent strength testing of mortar blocks made using a 20% substitution of ordinary Portland cement with natural pozzolan from a sub-sample of the bulk sample in accordance with ASTM C618 (the test standard for natural pozzolan). Sunrise also hailed a “great result” as assay and analytical results were received from its maiden drill hole at its wholly-owned Clayton silver-gold project in Nevada, USA. Executive chairman Patrick Cheetham said the intersection warrants further intensive exploration and the company is now considering its next steps, including the possibility of finding a joint venture partner to continue the exploration. At the Bakers Gold Project in Australia, Sunrise is moving ahead with plans to drill, and a rig is provisionally booked to start at the end of March. The proposed drill programme will comprise five reverse circulation drill holes between 100 and 200 metres deep to test three separate gold targets which include old mine workings, areas of gold nugget production and a gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly. What the boss says: Patrick Cheetham, executive chairman  “We anticipate a high level of activity now that our CS Project is permitted for production and as we continue the exploration of our precious metals projects in Nevada and Australia,” Video