55 RC holes plunged across the northern bank of CZR Resources’ Robe Mesa iron ore project in WA’s Pilbara region have delivered the highest grades of direct shipping ore, or “DSO” mineralisation at the operation to-date with an average of 56 per cent iron.
The company says the northern extension sits outside of the operation’s current 37.5 million tonne resource and underlines the venture’s development upside.
DSO material can be shipped directly to customers with minimal processing and CZR believes its latest results position the product as comparable to steel magnates Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Atlas Iron at 56.4, 56.5 and 57.5 per cent iron respectively.
Significant intercepts from the company’s latest probe include 11m at 57.3 per cent iron from 34m, 12m running 57.2 per cent from surface, 11m going 57.1m from 33m, 16m grading 57 per cent from surface and 11m at 57 per cent from a depth of just 35m.
Some of the longer strikes include 17m at 56.5 per cent iron from surface, 16m going 56.1 per cent from surface and 15m grading 56.9 per cent from surface.
Management believes the upper channel iron deposit within its northern extension offers significant outcropping at surface which eliminates its need to strip away waste material and access first ore.
In addition, the company says its testing of the extension’s lower channel iron deposit shows continuity of the DSO material from the south.
Final assay results from the campaign are set to start trickling in next month and will flow into an updated mineral resource due in December and a revised mine plan earmarked for mid-late January.
The campaign follows a 94-hole, 5738m program aimed at boosting the project’s existing resource to the north and infill drilling the lower channel iron deposit in the southern portion of the Robe Mesa deposit.
Significant results from the previous campaign include 14m at 56.3 per cent iron from 33m, 13m at 56.7 per cent from 35m and 20m grading 55.4 per cent from 41m.
CZR’s Robe Mesa deposit is positioned within the prolific Robe Valley channel iron deposits and is an expansion of Rio Tinto’s Mesa F deposit. Rio along with its joint venture partners Mitsui and Nippon Steel have been mining in the area’s channel iron deposits since the 1970s.
Perth-based CZR has been running the rule over the northern extension of Rio Tinto’s neighbouring Mesa F deposit in order to expand its iron ore inventory ahead of an end-of-year definitive feasibility study, or “DFS”.
The study follows a pre-feasibility study, or “PFS” which in 2020 assessed the economics of a low-CAPEX, low-strip-ratio iron ore operation starring material collected from Robe Mesa.
The PFS envisions once up and running the project could churn out 2 million tonnes of iron ore per annum over a five and a half year period.
CZR is now using new its new drilling to lift production to 3 million tonnes a year and stretch the project’s mine life.
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By Matt Birney
