WA-based Surefire Resources has unveiled a large iron exploration target of between 870 and 1,240 million tonnes boasting a grade of between 29 per cent and a whopping 41 per cent iron at its Perenjori project. The company’s share price soared off the back of the announcement finishing the trading day up a cracking 36 per cent.
The new exploration target is exclusively within the company’s existing 192 million tonne inferred mineral resource grading 36.6 per cent iron providing huge upside for an updated resource estimate.
An initial model estimating the new exploration target was created utilising high definition, helicopter-borne aeromagnetic survey data in addition to geological drill hole logging information and assay data from 123 holes. The resulting data was then used to model magnetic anomalies with a 3D map showing zones of magnetic susceptibility the final result.
The volume of the exploration target was then estimated within a range from the 3D model with grade estimates made on the basis of magnetic susceptibility recorded during logging. A magnetic susceptibility value of 0.1 was chosen as the level where oxidised banded iron formations and fresh banded iron formations are unambiguously separated.
Higher iron percentages have generally been recorded in the fresh banded iron formations and will therefore be the primary target of follow up drill efforts.
The strike length of the Perenjori iron project now spans more than 47 kilometres on 100 per cent Surefire-owned tenure. Multiple mineralised banded iron formation units are repeated by faulting across the area with thicknesses ranging up to 80m wide.
Importantly, only about 25 per cent of the potential strike length has been included in current inferred resource estimates and only one of the several banded iron formation beds has been drill tested.
Perenjori is also surrounded by tier one infrastructure with the Morawa-Perjori rail line and the Karara rail spur both located within 15km whilst the port of Geraldton is also only approximately 219km distance by rail. The company can choose to either truck ore to the existing rail lines or it can build a spur line to the deposit.
Additionally, the Three Springs Golden Grove electricity transmission line is within 8km of the deposit with numerous towns nearby to supply the workforce and infrastructure for project development.
In addition to the exploration target, the inferred resource supports the positive results released from a recent scoping study at the Perenjori iron project.
Surefire’s scoping study examined open-pit magnetite ore mined at Perenjori being beneficiated using conventional crushing, two-pass grinding and magnetic separation.
The company says metallurgical test work indicated Perenjori magnetite ore could be upgraded to a final concentrate product grading an eye-catching 67.5 per cent iron as a high-grade feed material for the hungry Asian steel industry.
An 85 per cent iron yield could be realised from a significant portion of the orebody with weight recovery expected to come in at 44 per cent, according to the ASX-listed junior explorer.
Surefire Resources Managing Director, Vladimir Nikolaenko said:
“With only a fraction of the available 47km of strike of bif tested by drilling, the Perenjori Iron Project’s potential has yet to be fully realised. Surefire will be working diligently to fully explore the opportunity this project presents.”
With stocks of hematite-based iron ore in the Pilbara diminishing at an alarming rate, magnetite is starting to rack up some serious attention as a solid alternative.
Following beneficiation, scoping studies predict Surefire’s magnetite-based iron will reach a whopping 67.5 per cent iron, leaving the likes of FMG, Rio Tinto and BHP’s hematite iron ore operations in the rear-view mirror when it comes to grade.
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