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Cyclone Metals Limited (ASX: CLE) (Cyclone or the Company) is pleased to report the latest results of the first phase of metallurgical test work performed on its flagship Block 103 / Iron Bear Magnetite Iron Ore Project (Block 103 / Iron Bear) in Canada.
- Direct Reduction (DR) magnetite concentrate produced grading 70.6% Fe with very low deleterious elements and silica below 1.2 % which is world class
- High recovery rate of over 80% for total Fe
- The current estimated market price this DR magnetite concentrate is USD 167/t CFR China1 which represents a premium of 30 USD/t above the 62% Fe benchmark
- DR concentrate was achieved simply by adding a reverse flotation step to the Iron Bear Blast Furnace (BF) concentrate (as outlined in the ASX release dated 28/11/23)
- The optimum process flow sheet and associated mass and energy balances have been defined and calibrated. This will flow into the pilot plant design and scoping study – both of which are underway
- The production of bulk samples of BF and DR magnetite concentrates using an industrial grade pilot plant is planned to commence next week
Cyclone CEO, Paul Berend, commented: “We have achieved another very exciting milestone in the development of our flagship Iron Bear Project by demonstrating that we can easily produce a world class magnetite DR concentrate grading 70.6% Fe, with ultra-low silica and no deleterious elements. If we can demonstrate that our DR concentrate is a good source material to produce DR grade pellets, then we will be able to provide European steel producers with a realistic solution to reduce the carbon footprint of their existing blast furnace-based steel mills. We still have months of test work ahead of us to conclusively demonstrate this – but we will be able to provide steel mills with large bulk samples of both products as early as Q1 next year. This should enable us to start meaningful JV discussions.”
Flash Operational Update
Cyclone is pleased to report that it remains on track to achieve its key Strategy on a Page (SOAP) operational milestones planned in calendar year 2023. Some elements of milestone 5 (mineral resource upgrade) might be delayed until February 2024, but the design of the pilot plant (milestone 7) and delivery of bulk samples (milestone 6) are running ahead of schedule.
The achievement of milestone 4 is significant as it demonstrates that Iron Bear / Block 103 could potentially be one of a handful of iron ore producers with the capability to produce premium DR grade concentrates. These high-quality magnetite concentrates are critical for the steel industry to reduce their carbon footprint and are expected to replace less fuel-efficient Direct Shipping Ores currently produced mainly in Australia and Brazil. Access to a large and low-cost source of DR grade magnetite concentrate could provide a very substantial structural competitive advantage to a steel mill producing in Europe, or exporting to Europe.
Concurrently, the Company is working on upgrading the mineral resource (milestone 5), in terms of size, and more importantly quality. Specifically, we are aiming to upgrade a portion of the mineral resource to JORC indicated status and also increase the size of the JORC inferred status by correlating the high-definition magnetite survey with the drilling results and applying the appropriate geological constraints. It is important to note that the outcome of this geological work is uncertain, and it is possible that no mineral resource upgrade will be achieved.
Cyclone is committed to being transparent with stakeholders and investors and will update progress on the SOAP on a regular basis.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Cyclone Metals Ltd., 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.
CLE:AU
Cyclone Metals
Overview
Cyclone Metals (ASX:CLE) is a listed exploration and development mining company focused on developing a world-class iron ore project in Canada referred to as project Block 103 or project Iron Bear. The company completed its acquisition of Labrador Iron, which owns 100 percent of the Block 103 magnetite iron ore project in Canada.
Iron Bear is located in the Labrador Trough in Canada, 30 kilometers from the town of Schefferville, and is within 20 kilometers of an open-access heavy haul railway directly connected to the Sept Isles iron ore export port. The Labrador Trough is a well-established and stable iron ore exporting district which harbors numerous iron producers including IOC (Rio Tinto), Champion Iron and Tata Steel, all of which benefit from the same rail and port infrastructure.
Iron Bear is a well-advanced project with over US$35 million of expenditures to date, including mineral resource drilling, metallurgical test work, geological modelling, engineering studies and risk assessments.
A maiden NI 43-101 mineral resource was defined by Watts, Griffis and McOuat in 2013, and updated in April 2024. A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) study was completed by BBA Inc. These independent studies highlight the exciting value embedded in Iron Bear, and the potential to produce large volumes of direct reduction pellets for a low cash cost, leveraging the low stripping ratio (0.4:1), and access to competitive hydro power. The company's upgraded JORC-compliant mineral resource statement and related mineralogical test work results show indicated and inferred mineral resource of 16.6 billion tons containing 29.3 percent total iron and 18.2 percent magnetic iron.
Iron Bear - regional access and infrastructure
As the company ramps up the development of the Iron Bear Project, Cyclone Metals has entered into a binding term sheet with BVI-registered company Moosh Moosh Limited for the sale of its non-core gold assets which include the Nickol River Gold Project tenements in Western Australia, the Longwood Range Gold Copper PGE Project, Mareburn Gold Project, Macraes South Gold Project, Drybread – Waikerikeri Gold Project, and Muirs Gold Project located on the North and South Islands of New Zealand.
Company Highlights
- Cyclone metals owns 100 percent of the world-class Iron Bear iron ore project in Canada and has approximately AU$8 million of liquid investments in ASX listed resource companies.
- The world class Iron Bear iron ore project has an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 16.6 billion tons containing 29.3 percent total iron and 18.2 percent magnetic iron (JORC and NI 43-101- compliant).
- Pilot plant metallurgical test work confirms reasonable prospects for future economic extraction.
- The Iron Bear mineral asset is located in the Labrador Trough, less than 15 kilometers from an open access heavy haul railway directly connected to the Sept Isles iron ore export port.
- Metallurgical test work completed on representative bulk sediment samples delivered a magnetite blast furnace concentrate produced grading 68.7 percent iron with very low deleterious elements and silica below 3.5 percent. The magnetite recovery ration was over 97 percent achieved with industrial processing equipment.
- A preliminary economic assessment suggests that the cash costs for producing blast furnace pellets could be very low, estimated at US$46.5 /t FOB Sept Isles due to a low stripping ratio (1/4) and access to hydropower.
- Iron ore is the world’s second largest commodity by value and underpins the growth of developing nations including China and India. The benchmark 62 percent Fe price has been on average US$95/t CFR China over the last decade. As of 04/12/23 the price of the 62 percent Fe benchmark was US$130/t and the price for BF pellets was US$182/t.
- The Iron Bear iron ore products will be tailored to minimise the carbon footprint of steel producers – further enhancing the value of the project for investors. Test work is ongoing to define an ultra-low carbon direct reduction pellet and concentrate.
- The management team of Iron Bear has communicated a very structured plan to develop the project and deliver value for stakeholders (investors and local communities). The achievement of each milestone is monitored and has clear accountabilities
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Focused on Developing a World-class Iron Ore Asset in Canada, project Iron Bear
