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Burley Minerals Limited (ASX: BUR, “Burley” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that Exploration License E08/3424 (the Cane Bore Iron Project) was granted by The Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS). Cane Bore is located within the world class Pilbara Province of the Western Australia and located less than 100 km by sealed road from the export Port of Onslow.
Highlights
Cane Bore Iron Project, WA – 100% Interest
- Exploration License (E08/3424) granted over the Cane Bore Iron Ore Project within the Hamersly Province of the Pilbara, Western Australia ~ 100 km by sealed road from Port of Onslow.
- More than 30km of remnant Channel Iron Deposits (CID) identified with historic rock sampling indicates grades of 51.3% to 55.0% Fe.
- The CID averages 400m widths and sits up to 20m above the surrounding surface.
- Burley is readying for a mapping and rock-chip sampling programme and is preparing a Programme of Work for its maiden drilling programme.
- Burley is currently engaging with Traditional Owners to complete heritage surveys for the maiden drill programme.
The grant of E08/3424 is subject to the conditions outlined in the Conservation Management Plan (CMP) approved by Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) earlier this year. The CMP provides details of the proposed exploration programmes at Cane Bore and the measures that will be implemented to mitigate environmental impacts of exploration activities.
Burley has Heritage Protection Agreements in place with the PKKP Aborginal Coporation and Buurabalayji Thalanjyi Aborginal Coporation, and is pursuing heritage surveys now. Furthermore, the Programme of Work (PoW) application for the maiden drilling programme is being prepared. This maiden drilling program is well defined in the CMP, faciliatiing the PoW application process. In addition, Burely is preparing a preliminary mapping and rock chip sampling exercise over the Channel Iron Deposit (CID) target areas at Cane Bore.
The Cane Bore Iron Project is adjacent to the sealed Northwest Coastal Highway, interesecting the Osnslow Road, and approximately 200 km southwest of Burley’s Broad Flat Well Iron Project (see Figure 1). The Cane River area was historically explored for iron resources in the late 1960s, but only wide-spaced sampling of surface materials was reported. More recent reconnisaince work, using recent satellite imagery, multi-spectral imagery, topographic data and extrapolation of known regional resources, indicates the potential to delineate more than 30 linear km of CID mineralisation at Cane Bore.
Figure 1: Cane Bore and Broad Flat Well Iron Projects Location Plan, Pilbara, Western Australia.
Burley Minerals Managing Director and CEO, Stewart McCallion commented:
“We are very pleased to have the Cane Bore exploration license granted. This is a major milestone for Burley as Cane Bore has the potential for significant CID-style iron resources, rivalling its neighbours in the local region. Our geologists are getting ready to mobilise to site and complete mapping and surface sampling over 30km of remnant Channel Iron Deposits (CID) that sits up to 20m above the surrounding terraine.
We are liasing with the Traditional Owners of the land to arrange heritage surveys over the primary drilling targets. The approved Conservation Management Plan detailed the proposed exploration programme at Cane Bore and this forms the basis to lodge a PoW application to DEMIRS now; there is more than 200 hectares of CID target areas to explore in this first pass. We are very excited about commencing a maiden drill programme over this substantial project and thank Burley shareholders for their patience while we reached this significant milestone.”
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Types of Iron Ore: Hematite vs. Magnetite
What is hematite ore?
Hematite ore, also called direct-shipping ore, has naturally high iron content suitable for steelmaking. Because of its high iron content, hematite ore must undergo only a simple crushing, screening and blending process before being shipped off for steel production. For that reason, hematite ore is important for many mining companies.
Hematite ore is found throughout the world, with major production hotspots being Australia, Brazil, China and India.
In Australia, hematite has been the primary type of iron ore mined since the early 1960s. Nearly all of Australia's iron ore exports are high-grade hematite ore, and the majority of its reserves are located in the Hamersley mountain range of Western Australia because the range sits on a banded iron formation.
BHP (ASX:BHP,LSE:BHP,NYSE:BHP) is Australia’s leading iron ore producer and has several mining and processing hubs in Western Australia. Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) is also a major iron ore producer in the country, especially in the Pilbara region. One of its key iron producing operations is the Hope Downs iron ore complex, a 50/50 joint venture with Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.
Brazil is another of the world’s main sources of hematite ore. The country's Carajás mine, operated by major miner Vale (NYSE:VALE), is the largest iron ore mine in existence. Vale consistently ranks among the world's five largest mining companies and is the world's biggest producer of iron ore pellets. Its primary iron ore assets are in the Iron Quadrangle region of Brazil's Minas Gerais state.
A great deal of hematite ore is also mined in China. Known reserves include the Tung-Yeh-Chen and Dongye hematite ore deposits.
What is magnetite ore?
Mishainik / Adobe Stock
The mineral magnetite is a highly magnetic mineral found in solid and crystal forms. Magnetite actually has higher iron content than hematite. However, while hematite ore generally contains large concentrations of hematite, magnetite ore tends to hold low concentrations of the mineral magnetite. As a result, this type of iron ore ore must be concentrated before it can be used to produce steel. Magnetite ore’s magnetic properties are helpful during this process.
Magnetite ore may require more treatment than hematite ore, but end products made from magnetite ore are typically of higher quality than those made from hematite ore. That’s because magnetite ore has fewer impurities than hematite ore; in this way, the elevated cost of processing it can be balanced out.
Magnetite ore is currently mined in Minnesota and Michigan in the US, as well as in taconite deposits in Eastern Canada. A major mining site in Michigan is the Marquette Range, which hosts four types of iron ore deposits, including both magnetite and hematite ore.
In Minnesota, magnetite ore is mined mainly in the Mesabi Range, one of the four ranges that make up the state's Iron Range. Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) is a major player in the magnetite ore industry and the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America. Its Hibbing Taconite joint venture in Minnesota’s Mesabi Range has an annual capacity of around 7 million metric tons of magnetite ore.
In Canada, many mining companies focus on exploration and development in the iron-rich Labrador Trough, which runs through parts of the provinces of Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2013.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
