Surefire Resources has upped the ante at the Perenjori magnetite iron ore project in WA’s southwest Murchison mineral field, with a production study to be conducted by consultant MinRizon Projects looking at options for the project’s existing 191.7 million tonne resource going 36.6 per cent iron. Resource drilling may also be on the cards ahead of a feasibility study.
The Perenjori tenure consists of four granted exploration licences with another three under application for a combined area of 642 sq. km.
Whilst the project is prospective for gold and base metal mineralisation, it is the iron ore that has taken centre stage amidst surging prices for the steel-making material.
Geological consulting group, HGS Australia recently conducted a detailed review of the project and concluded the previous resource estimate compiled by CSA Global in 2013 had stood the test of time and remained at JORC standard.
The MinRizon production study will look to build on a previous scoping study on the Perenjori project in 2013.
Surefire says previous metallurgical testwork at the project produced a high-quality concentrate with the magnetite ore potentially being able to be upgraded to about 70 per cent iron via standard beneficiation techniques. Promisingly, the main zone of the orebody reportedly achieved an impressive 84 to 86 per cent yield.
Although hematite ore is reported to be associated with the magnetite in the orebody, the study will focus on magnetite to simplify production processes aimed at delivering high-grade iron concentrate to Asian markets.
The detailed study will look to evaluate the layout of the processing plant together with relevant processing equipment and capacities. A process flowsheet for the proposed operation will be developed whilst other infrastructure requirements such as water and power access will also be assessed.
Surefire plans to export the ore by rail via the Port of Geraldton and capital costs and operating costs of getting the product to port will be calculated.
MinRizon brings a wealth of study experience with major magnetite iron ore projects.
Surefire has also identified a myriad of targets that it believes might add substantially to the existing Perenjori resource base. They include extensions to the magnetite-bearing banded iron formations and potential hematitic, direct shipping ores that may be present as proximal detrital and supergene deposits.
The company believes more than 500 million tonnes of iron ore may be defined within the project tenure with further drilling.
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By Matt Birney
