Hawsons Iron Ltd (ASX:HIO) has completed more than 50% of its follow-up drilling program to further define the extent, tonnage and grade of shallow magnetite mineralisation in the Fold Zone within the Hawsons Iron Project near Broken Hill in Far West New South Wales.
The company 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 Hawsons Iron Project’s cash flow during the first few years of operation and extend the mine’s projected 40-year production life.
Managing director Bryan Granzien said drilling activity would pause during the annual holiday season and resume in early 2024 to complete the balance of the confirmation and definition drilling program.
Greater certainty for investors
“We had initially planned to expand the focus of this program to include a mineralised Limb Zone which continues to the south and southwest of the existing mineral resource,” Granzien said.
“However, further analysis demonstrated that focusing exclusively on the Fold Zone instead would provide greater certainty for investors and reduce subsequent drilling costs required to complete the bankable feasibility study (BFS).”
Granzien said the revised program aimed to further define higher-grade mineralisation within the southern part of the latest pit shell design.
Hawsons Iron Project and tenement map.
Drill program
To date, 10 of the 20 planned reverse circulation (RC) holes have been drilled, as well as one twin diamond drill core hole, despite challenging ground conditions.
The current drill program has been assessed against the updated model, indicating all drill holes designed to target near-surface mineralisation are in optimal positions.
This supports the use of high-amplitude magnetic anomalies to identify mineralisation and understand its continuity within the weathered profile.
Correlation of results with newly reinterpreted ground-magnetic data is advancing geological interpretation and 3D modelling of Fold Zone to inform future resource drilling.
“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.
New exploration licence
Hawsons has also applied for an additional exploration tenement adjoining its existing lease EL7208.
This new tenement EL9620 extends the project’s exploration footprint to the south and significantly improves mine planning flexibility within the boundaries of a new proposed mining lease area application.
Forward plan
“Laboratory analysis of all assay results and incorporation of this data in the company’s geological model will be completed during the March quarter of 2024 as planned,” Granzien said.
“DTR estimates using hand-held magnetic susceptibility meters have again been very encouraging.”
The revised program aimed to further define higher-grade mineralisation within the southern part of the latest pit shell design.
Significantly, independent geological experts H&S Consultants have been incorporating newly reinterpreted ground magnetic data, initially collected in 2012, into the existing geological model.