Cyclone Metals Ltd (ASX:CLE) has reduced total project development time by over a year for the Block 103 Magnetite Iron Ore Project in Canada, after successfully completing winter field operations and discovering more than 15 tonnes of additional sediment cores for metallurgical testing.
The company has logged, selected, and packaged some 10 tonnes of these cores to ship to a metallurgical laboratory in Quebec City, enough to complete the company's metallurgical test work program until the end of 2024.
This includes production of bulk samples of premium grade direct reduction (DR) magnetite concentrates and pellets, and the operation of an industrial pilot plant.
No additional drilling needed
“In spite of the challenging logistics and the extreme weather conditions, we have been able to operate in Schefferville successfully thanks to the active support of the local contractors and people,” Cyclone Metals CEO Paul Berend said.
“We are grateful for the help and have been fortunate to locate vast amounts of sediment core in good condition which means that we will be able to complete our bulk test work program without any additional drilling or trenching.
“This will save us over a year compared to most of our peers.”
Cyclone is still designing Block 103’s flowsheet based on ongoing metallurgical test work, initial results from which have been encouraging.
The company expects to have the final specifications for its blast furnace grade magnetite product (as well as an initial flowsheet design) by the end of November.
Additionally, Cyclone has completed a first-pass survey of the existing heavy haul railway connecting Schefferville to Pointe Noire to determine its suitability for ore haulage.