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Cyclone Metals Limited (ASX: CLE) (Cyclone or the Company) is pleased to announce the release of an upgraded JORC compliant Mineral Resource Statement, for its 100% owned Iron Bear Iron Ore Project, located in the Labrador Trough region of Canada.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 16.6 billion tonnes containing 29.3% total Fe and 18.2% magnetic Fe, cut-off grade 12.5% magnetic Fe.
- Indicated Mineral Resource of 2.15 billion tonnes containing 28.68% total Fe and 19% magnetic Fe.
- Upgraded mineral resource statement supported by geophysical analysis (including the development of an inversion model1), geophysical statistical analysis and pilot plant metallurgical test work.
- Ore body characteristics suggests that reasonable prospects exist for eventual economic extraction.
- Low stripping ratio, with negligible overburden.
- Location less than 25 km from existing open access railway.
- Access to local low-cost renewable hydropower.
- Pilot plant metallurgical test work confirms that reasonable prospects exist for eventual economic extraction:
- Production of a Direct Reduction grade concentrate grading 70.6% Fe and 1.2% SiO2 with an overall magnetic Fe yield of 88.9%2
- Production of a Blast Furnace grade concentrate grading 68.9% and 3.4% silica with a magnetic Fe yield of 95.5%
- Very low deleterious elements (P, MnO etc)
- Favourable grindability indices of BWi = 16.7 kWh/t and SMC = 11.7 kWh/t
About The Iron Bear Project
The Iron Bear Project consists of ten licenses totalling 7,275 ha on 291 graticular Mineral Claims under the applicable Labrador and Newfoundland mining regulation, located near the Provincial border of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) and Quebec (QC), approximately 30 km northwest of the town of Schefferville, QC and 1,200 km by air northeast of Montréal, QC.
Figure 1: Iron Bear - Regional Access and Infrastructure
The mineralisation is typical of the Labrador Trough, being a magnetite/hematite taconite. The Labrador Trough is a 1,600 km long and 160 km Canadian Proterozoic volcanic and sedimentary basin that extends from Ungava Bay south-southeast through Quebec and Labrador. The Labrador Trough has supported iron ore mining operations since 1954.
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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
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.
