Initial assays from extensional RC drilling at CZR Resources’ Robe Mesa iron ore project in WA’s Pilbara region have confirmed significant direct shipping ore, or “DSO” mineralisation beneath the asset’s pre-feasibility study pit.
DSO material can be shipped directly to customers with minimal processing.
The company says the material’s average grades of about 55.6 per cent iron align with its targeted production figures and reinforce its strategic plan to lift production and mine life at the operation.
CZR is currently sitting on a 37.5 million tonne resource grading 56 per cent iron at Robe Mesa – figures which put its product within touching distance of comparable products by steel stalwarts Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Atlas Iron at 56.4, 56.5 and 57.5 per iron respectively.
The recently completed campaign included 94 holes for 5738m and was aimed at bolstering 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.
Some of the significant intercepts include 14m at 56.3 per cent iron from 33m, 13m at 56.7 per cent iron from 35m and 20m grading 55.4 per cent iron from 41m.
CZR’s cornerstone Robe Mesa deposit sits within the prolific Robe Valley channel iron deposits and is an extension of Rio Tinto’s Mesa F deposit. The mining behemoth and its joint venture partners Mitsui and Nippon Steel have been mining the channel iron deposits since the 1970s.
The activity and lucrative characteristics of the iron products on offer invited CZR to pick up ground in the area and home in on the zones near surface mineralisation.
CZR has been targeting the northern extension of Rio Tinto’s neighbouring Mesa F deposit to grow its iron ore inventory ahead of an end-of-year definitive feasibility study, or “DFS”.
The DFS will follow a 2020 pre-feasibility study, or “PFS” which evaluated the economics of a low-CAPEX, low-strip-ratio iron ore operation using material from the Robe Mesa iron ore deposit.
The PFS considered the costs of mining, crushing, screening, haulage and export. The study suggested it would cost about $51 million to develop the project – a figure which could be paid back in just 19 months.
According to the PFS the project could pump out 2 million tonnes of iron ore each year for five and a half years.
The company is now ramping up drilling to push the potential output to three million tonnes per annum and extend the project’s shelf life.
Management says the lower channel iron unit drilled in its latest campaign was not included in the PFS but will be included in the looming DFS.
CZR Resources’ Managing Director, Stefan Murphy said:“This first batch of assays from Robe Mesa provides strong support for our expansion plans, confirming the lower CID contains thick intersections of DSO, with the infill drilling also providing the opportunity to convert additional Resource tonnes into Reserves”.
Robe Mesa is a joint venture, with CZR holding an 85 per cent stake and 15 per cent being held by private company ZanF. The project forms part of the company’s Yarraloola iron ore project, 140km south-west of Karratha.
Robe Mesa boasts a low strip ratio of under 1:1, which translates into lower mining costs and ultimately more profitably – characteristics that CZR could readily lean on once mining at the project commences.
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By Matt Birney
