Hawsons Iron Ltd (ASX:HIO) has kicked off an exploration drilling program seeking an additional 100-140 million tonnes of targeted magnetite mineralisation at shallow depth at the Hawsons Iron Project near Broken Hill in Far West New South Wales.
The program of 21 drill holes is scheduled for completion this year and is aimed at further defining the extent, tonnage and grade of shallow magnetite discovered in the Fold and Limb Zone south of the existing mineral resource.
Targeting additional magnetite
Hawsons is targeting additional magnetite at a depth of 30-150 metres with a grade greater than 9% Davis Tube Recovery (DTR) to further improve the project’s cash flow during the first few years of operation and extend the mine’s projected 20-year production life.
As a follow-up to successful drilling earlier this year, the company is also expanding its exploration focus beyond the previously drilled Fold Zone to include the mineralised Limb Zone which continues to the south and southwest.
Managing director Bryan Granzien said the additional drilling sought to build on the exploration success from Stage 2 of the strategic review’s recommended three-stage resource analysis program earlier this year.
READ: Hawsons Iron hits mineable near-surface magnetite at namesake project; shares jump
“Change in mining strategy”
“The confirmed presence of mineable widths of targeted-grade mineralisation above the base of oxidation in the southern Fold and Limb Zone supports a change in mining strategy to greatly shorten the project’s ramp-up period to full production," Granzien said.
Laboratory analysis from the previous exploration drilling program revealed DTR averages in 10 holes ranging from 10.2-16.9%, with samples in several holes well above 20%.
About the drilling
The program of 20 reverse circulation (RC) holes for an estimated total of 3,150 metres has been budgeted to cost $1.3 million and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2023.
One of these holes will also be twinned with a 150-metre diamond drill core hole.
This program will build on the company’s considerable geological database on the vast mineralised zones which lie within its Exploration Leases and extend beyond the South Australian border to the southwest.
Watson Drilling has been contracted for the new program which will commence this week.
Out to improve NPV
“The previous drilling established the presence of approximately 100 million tonnes of magnetite mineralisation within the targeted grade and we are looking for an additional 100-140 million tonnes to further improve the project’s Net Present Value,” Granzien said.
The current exploration target at the project, which is 60 kilometres southwest of Broken Hill, is 5-18 billion tonnes, which is in addition to its measured, indicated and inferred JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate of 3.924 billion tonnes using a 6% recovered magnetic fraction DTR cut-off constrained to a pit shell.
Drilling schedule
Granzien said the drilling program was scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, weather permitting, although receipt of all the assay results and analysis would take longer due to the impact of the annual holiday season.
The company is focused on developing its flagship Hawsons Iron Project into a premium provider of high-quality iron ore products for the global steel industry.
Hawsons is potentially capable of producing the world’s highest-grade iron product (70% iron), making it among the world’s leading undeveloped high-quality iron ore concentrate and pellet feed projects.