The direct shipping ore (DSO) potential of the Southern Zone at Bekisopa Iron Ore Project in Madagascar has been enhanced by Akora Resources Ltd (ASX:AKO) with infill drilling results described as “outstanding”.
The company completed an 86-hole drill program for 1,166.4 metres with all holes intersecting iron mineralisation and 72 of these holes intercepted high-grade DSO iron, thus confirming significant areas of mineralisation with commercial potential.
Akora believes that the results will increase the size and confidence of the Southern Zone mineral resource estimate (MRE) with an updated MRE targeted for the middle of this year.
High-grade iron
High-grade iron mineralisation intercepts within the weathered zone and from surface that are suitable for DSO lumps and fines products include:
- 9.8 metres weighted 66.27% iron in hole BEKD090;
- 11.2 metres weighted 66.05% in hole BEKD092;
- 11.59 metres weighted 66.00% in hole BEKD132;
- 9.72 metres weighed 66.25% in hole BEKD091; and
- 9.1 metres weighted 65.10% in hole BEKD081.
Managing director and CEO Paul Bibby said: “The 2022 Bekisopa DSO infill drilling results are outstanding, showing a broad area across the Southern Zone of better than benchmark grade iron mineralisation.
"Substantial at surface intercepts grading above 63% iron appear to be suitable for lump and fines direct ship ore.
"These results will be provided to Wardell Armstrong to determine the updated DSO mineral resource estimate, which I feel will be significant."
Reconfirm DSO strategy
After reviewing the latest infill drilling assay results and intercepts, the company’s board believes that they reconfirm the strategy to focus on advancing an initial DSO project in the medium term and examining options to develop a large iron concentrate project in the longer term.
Directors believe that the new DSO results will result in an upgraded to the resource classification from inferred to indicated with potentially some 8-12 million tonnes of DSO mineralisation across an area of just 700 metres long by 500 metres wide.
This represents only about 12% of the known 6-kilometre strike length.
Strong Bekisopa progress
The company has made strong progress at Bekisopa since it listed 27 months ago in December 2020, including extensive drilling, product trials and a maiden inferred resource of 194.7 million tonnes, including 4.2 million tonnes of inferred DSO mineralisation.
Drilling campaigns in 2020 and 2021 confirmed an extensive iron ore body along the 6-kilometre strike at the project with iron mineralisation continuing at depths to 300 metres and expectations that this will continue well beyond this depth.
Bekisopa’s Southern Zone is a wide expanse of some 1.2 kilometres with high-grade mineralisation greater than benchmark grade of 62% iron exposed from the surface.
Enhanced resource classification of DSO tonnes and grade across the Southern Zone when added to the existing MRE and exploration potential in the Northern and Central Zones point to Akora achieving greater than 20 million tonnes of DSO lump and fines product grade iron ore.
Supports scoping study
A scoping study prepared by Wardell Armstrong International and released last November suggests the company could initially develop a relatively low capital and low operating cost start-up DSO project, at 2 million tonnes per year for potentially 10 years.
The low capital and low operating cost characteristics are apparent as the processing will only require a simple 'crush-screen-ship' mining operation.
Akora's Bekisopa 2022 DSO infill drilling has delineated high-grade areas on the east and western edges of the Southern Zone that are potentially suitable for higher than the 62% iron benchmark grade DSO lump and fines products.
Significant thicknesses of very high-grade weathered zone iron mineralisation, greater than 63% iron, have been delineated with low impurity levels.
It is expected that selective mining practices should deliver sufficient tonnage of high-grade DSO lump and fines iron ore products from a low capital and low operating cost DSO initial production at Bekisopa.