Proactive investors

Additional information

Additional	Information
Market:	ASX
Sector:	General Mining
Epic:	FMS
News:	Latest news
Web Site:	Flinders Mines
Other Articles:	05-05-201017-03-201022-10-2009

Flinders Mines lifts potential DSO component at Pilbara Iron Ore Project, WA

Analysis of new resource figures from Flinders Mines'(ASX: FMS) flagship Pilbara Iron Ore Project in Western Australia’s iron heartland has seen the company’s potential Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) component elevated by more than 30%.

Flinders announced today that latest estimates from the project’s high-priority Delta deposit have identified a combined Indicated and Inferred Resource consisting of lower Channel and Bedded iron deposits of 113 million tonnes at 58.5% iron for Delta, and which has the potential after further metallurgical and mining studies, for direct export to the busy steel mills of Asia.

The overall Pilbara project for Flinders Mines – comprising the two main target blocks, Blacksmith and the nearby Anvil ground - currently has a global Indicated and Inferred Resource of 550Mt @ 55.6% Fe, all contained within five separate deposits at Blacksmith.

“We continue to be heartened by the early findings of our ongoing mining studies, which suggest that the Delta deposit will lend itself to low-cost opencut mining with low waste-to-ore ratios,” Flinders Mines’ Managing Director Kevin Wills said.

“Adding to our confidence is the growing number of development and infrastructure options for the region’s bulk commodities, with the latest news that the WA Government is supporting a new multi-user port facility at Anketell, less than 175km by rail from our Pilbara project."

WA Premier, Colin Barnett, earlier this month committed $3.5 million to the preparationof an Industrial Precinct Development Agreement for a multi-user deepwater port at Anketell, 30km east of Karratha, to complement the Pilbara’s principal export hubs at Port Hedland and Dampier.

“We are currently exploring a number of options for development, including a potential fast-track option that could see Flinders Mines in its maiden iron ore production toward the end of 2012,” Wills said.

The Pilbara project is currently the subject of a Prefeasibility Study by engineering group, WorleyParsons. The outcome of this study is anticipated to lead into the launch in the fourth quarter of 2010, of a Bankable Feasibility Study to identify the most economic route to development.

Of the 550Mt global resource, the Delta deposit currently accounts for an estimated Inferred and Indicated Resource of 187.1 million tonnes at 56.5% iron – which includes the latest potential DSO resource estimate of 113 million tonnes at the higher grade of 58.5% iron.

“Although we still have to complete detailed mining and metallurgical studies to see how this potential DSO grade ore will behave , the initial figures support the likelihood of a significant DSO component at the Pilbara project,” Wills said.

The company has flagged the release by the end of next month of an updated global resource for the whole project, including an inaugural resource for the Anvil tenement – just to the southwest of Blacksmith.

Register here to be notified of Proactiveinvestors One2One Forums.