FLINDERS MINES has announced a maiden iron ore resource estimate of 476 million tonnes for its 100%-owned Hamersley project in Western Australia.
The company said exploration drilling in the vicinity from May is expected to rapidly add to that figure, targeting up to a further 260 million tonnes (Mt) of the shallow iron ore deposit.
The JORC-compliant Inferred Resource comprises 476 Mt of iron ore at a grade of 55.2% Fe, including priority zones of 124 Mt of iron ore grading above 58.3% Fe.
The company has described the result, received only eight months after the discover hole, as proof of Western Australia’s Pilbara region as the country’s premier iron ore province.
The quality of the resource and its proximity to the surface and existing world-class ore export infrastructure reveals considerable project upside very early in the life of development plans for the Hamersley, the company said.
The independently assessed JORC compliant resource estimate was derived from a major drilling campaign across four of five key prospects on Flinders 100%-owned E47/882 licence, an area sandwiched between Rio Tinto's new Caliwingina North iron ore discovery and Fortescue Metals Group Serenity iron ore project.
The drill campaign comprised an extensive 300-hole, 15,000-metre program which confirmed the presence of extensive hematite dominant Channel Iron Deposits (CID), as well as high-grade goethite dominant Bedded Iron Deposits lying beneath the CID.
"After an expenditure of $8 million and eight months of exploration, we can finally confirm what we have always suspected - that the Hamersley project contains an outstanding iron ore resource," Flinders Mines Chairman Bob Kennedy said.
Add a comment