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Leeuwin Metals Ltd (Leeuwin or the Company) (ASX: LM1) is pleased to announce that results have been received from first pass rock chip sampling program conducted at its West Pilbara Iron Ore Project in Western Australia.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Highly encouraging iron ore rock chips from first pass exploration at the West Pilbara Project, Western Australia.
- Significant rock chip results include:
- 55.27% Fe, 62.4% Ca Fe, 2.27% Al2O3, 6.74% SiO2, 0.02% P, 11.42% LOI
- 54.94% Fe, 62.22% Ca Fe, 2.1% Al2O3, 7.1% SiO2, 0.015% P, 11.7% LOI
- 53.73% Fe, 60.27% Ca Fe, 2.65% Al2O3, 8.88% SiO2, 0.002% P, 10.85% LOI
- 52.08% Fe, 58.35% Ca Fe, 2.82% Al2O3, 10.02% SiO2, 0.470% P, 10.75% LOI
- Large scale mineralisation evident over 1.7km of strike and remains open.
- Evidence of Channel Iron Deposit (CID) mineralisation 13 km north of Rio Tinto’s Mesa A mine.
- Follow-up fieldwork planned for the coming weeks to expand the footprint of mineralisation.
- The project added to Leeuwin’s portfolio is a result of internal project generation.
Managing Director, Christopher Piggott, commented:
“The assay results received from West Pilbara Iron Ore Project provide an exciting start to revealing the extent of a potential CID deposits in a world class region in Western Australia. With these first pass results there is potential for a project of scale, with encouraging grades and low impurities. The Pilbara is home to World Class Iron Ore mines with the region well supported by excellent infrastructure within access to Leeuwin’s tenure.
With exploration ongoing by Leeuwin’s dedicated staff at the Cross Lake Lithium Project in Manitoba, Canada and work programs running in parallel by the Western Australia team, we look forward to providing strong news to market in the second half of 2024.”
The West Pilbara Iron Ore Project (the Project) has identified compelling iron ore targets, returning highly encouraging iron ore values of over 50% Fe along a 1.7 km strike. This target area was identified through satellite imagery and regional mapping. Mineralisation remains open along strike with follow up field work to commence in the coming weeks.
Figure 1: Mapped CID mineralisation has been identified over 1.7km strike and remains open.
Overview
The Project area is prospective for Channel Iron Deposit (CID) with multiple target areas present within the Project. The target areas are located close to the North-West Costal Highway, with excellent infrastructure being 150km southwest of Ashburton Port (Onslow) and Port of Port Headland 380km northeast accessed via sealed highway. Situated in close proximity to Rio Tinto’s Mesa A mine, CZR Resources' Robe Mesa project, and Macro Metals' Deepdale project refer Figure 2.
Today’s results (refer Appendix B for full details) are located just 13 km north of Rio Tinto’s Mesa A mine, which is a substantial Channel Iron Deposit (CID) mineralisation. This strategic location not only aligns us with significant industry players but also enhances our prospects to advance any discovery within the project.
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This article includes content from Leeuwin Metals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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.
