The Pre-Feasibility Study issued in 2011 stated Aappaluttoq hosts the following resources:
2011 Pre-Feasibility Mineral Resource
| Category | Volume | Tonnage(1) | Average Grade(2,3) | Average Grade(2,3,4) | Contained Corundum (2,3) | Contained Corundum(2,3,4) |
| m3 | t | g/t | ct/t | M.g | M.ct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 59,110 | 189,150 | 313.33 | 1,566.65 | 59.27 | 296.33 |
| Inferred | 24,110 | 77,160 | 283.46 | 1,417.28 | 21.87 | 109.35 |
| Notes:(1) Densities are derived from specific gravity measurements of host lithologies and estimated for host zone based on specific gravity of corundum and average grade.(2) Based on a Total Clean Corundum grades greater than 1.7 mm size fraction from mineralogical lab analysis.(3) Top cut grade of 7,325 grams per tonne (97.5 percentile), and a lower cut-off grade of 1 gram per tonne.(4) One gram equals five carats. | ||||||
The open pit design is based on a selected shell from a series generated using Gemcom’s Whittle 4X software. The pit design uses geotechnical and practical mining parameters which should allow safe and efficient extraction of ore. The shell selection and pit design is based on Indicated Mineral Resources only. The table below shows the current minable mineral reserves.
Aappaluttoq Open Pit Mineral Reserves
| Reserve | Corundum | Contained Corundum | |
| t | g/t | M.g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proven | – | – | – |
| Probable | 161,700 | 350 | 56.6 |
| Total | 161,700 | 350 | 56.6 |
The Mineral Reserve contains 95% of the Indicated Mineral Resource in reference to total corundum, and 85% in reference to tonnage.
For the Mineral Reserve, the percentages of gem and near-gem rubies and sapphires contained in that corundum are based on the percentages determined from the analysis of the B1 and B2 bulk samples taken in 2006 and 2007. This information is shown below. Valuations are only applied to the gem and near-gem portion of the corundum; no value was applied to the non-gem ‘commercial’ material. The combination of the B1 and B2 were the most representative samples to use in the estimation of gem distribution characteristics as there was increased knowledge of the deposit and greater scrutiny of the samples. The company believe that this percentage split is representative of the ore body at large, however during initial mining the grade distribution and total will be carefully monitored.
The deposit remains open to depth and along strike.