2 April 2019 the Companies Officer Australian Securities Exchange Ltd
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2 April 2019 The Companies Officer Australian Securities Exchange Ltd Level 40, Central Park 152-158 St Georges Terrace Perth WA 6000 Dear Madam or Sir Iron Bridge Magnetite Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Update: Operating Properties Fortescue Metal Group (ASX:FMG, Fortescue) presents an update to the Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources statement for its Magnetite properties at 2 April 2019. Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources are reported in accordance with the Australian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, December 2012 (the JORC Code) as required by the Australian Securities Exchange. This is an update to Fortescue’s annual summary and should be read in conjunction with the supporting technical information (Hematite Ore Reserve and Mineral Resources Report and Magnetite Ore Reserve and Mineral Resources Report) released by Fortescue on 17 August 2018. Magnetite Ore Reserve and Mineral Resource – Operating Properties Reporting 2 April 2019 30 June 2018 Basis Million tonnes Fe% Million tonnes Fe% Ore Reserves (Dry In-Situ tonnes prior to 716 67.0 705 67.2 processing and product grades) Mineral Resources (Dry In-Situ tonnes and 5,448 30.4 7,892 30.3 grades) Fortescue’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms Elizabeth Gaines said “This update supports the development of Stage 2 of our Iron Bridge Magnetite Project announced today which holds Australia’s largest JORC compliant magnetite resource.” Yours sincerely Fortescue Metals Group Ltd Cameron Wilson Company Secretary Fortescue Metals Group Limited PO Box 6915 ABN 57 002 594 872 East Perth, Western Australia Level 2, 87 Adelaide Terrace P +61 8 6218 8888 East Perth, Western Australia 6004 E [email protected] Iron Bridge Magnetite Project Mineral Resources Reporting as at 2 April 2019 Together we are Fortescue Fortescue Metals Group Ltd ABN 57 002 594 872 Magnetite Mineral Resources An updated Magnetite Mineral Resource estimate has been produced for the Iron Bridge Magnetite Project, incorporating the North Star, Eastern Limb, Glacier Valley and West Star deposits. The operation is a Joint Venture between Fortescue Magnetite Pty Ltd (69%) and Formosa Steel IB (31%); it covers granted mining leases M45/1226 (North Star) and M45/1244 (Glacier Valley) and pending mining leases M45/1261 (Glacier Valley) and M45/1262 (North Star). The Mineral Resource Estimate is reported in compliance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (The JORC Code). Only Mineral Resources are being reported, including material in the Measured, Indicated and Inferred Categories. Project location Figure 1 Project location and projected infrastructure The project area is located approximately 145 km south of the town of Port Hedland from Port Hedland, and then via well (Stage 1) processing facility has been in the Pilbara region of Western Australia maintained gravel roads to the Project area. constructed and successfully operated to (Figure 1), where Fortescue’s port facility is trial innovative processing solutions which A Pre-Feasibility study has been completed located. The project is also located within reduce operational costs. Over 1 million aimed at developing the magnetite project 25 km of the existing Fortescue rail line. tonnes of oxide and magnetite ore was by mining and processing at site, and then processed during 2015 to 2016. Access to the project region is via the Great pumping fine grained concentrate to Port Northern Highway sealed road southerly Hedland for drying and shipping through the Fortescue port facilities. An initial Iron Bridge Magnetite Project Mineral Resources Reporting Regional Geology The Iron Bridge Magnetite Project is situated parallel to the granitoid contacts. Regional overlain by Pincunah deep marine BIF. within the East Pilbara Terrane of the Pilbara deformation is characterised by strike slip The Soanesville Group is characterised by Craton. Volcanic and volcanoclastic rocks and reverse faulting. terrigenous clastic sediments. of the Pilbara Super Group have been The lease area includes two major volcano- intruded by Archaean felsic granitoids, sedimentary formations, the Sulphur forming dome and keel type structures. Springs and younger Soanesville Group Regional greenschist facies metamorphism (Figure 2). Sulphur Springs is a 2,500 m and transpressional deformation have to 3,000 m steeply dipping sequence of formed sub-vertical tight to isoclinal folds ultramafic to mafic volcanics which are Group Unit Lithology Stratigraphic Position Soanesville Group Paddy Market Formation Shale and BIF Youngest Corboy Formation Siliciclastic conglomerate and sandstones Cardinal Formation Predominantly shale Sulphur Springs Group Pincunah Member Magnetic BIF Kangaroo Caves Formation Basalt-andesite volcanics and associated volcanoclastics Kunagunarinna Formation High-Mg basalt and komatiitic basalt Leilira Formation Siliciclastic sandstones Eldest Figure 2 Stratigraphy of Iron Bridge Project Area 3 Figure 3 Deposit location and tenements Iron Bridge Magnetite Project Mineral Resources Reporting Iron mineralisation at Iron Bridge occurs The Pincunah Member mineralisation has RC drilling at North Star has been completed primarily within the Pincunah Member been geologically defined into Western, to a 25m x 25m pattern in the Stage 1 which outcrops across the entire project Middle and Eastern units according to assay mining area, with 50m x 50m spacing in tenement. It is often masked by cemented results and geophysical logging. Each unit the main South Core domain. Other areas caps of ferruginous weathered BIF, is interpreted to be conformable within the generally have broader 200m x 100m silcrete and detritus. A surficial weathered Pincunah Member and adjacent stratigraphy spacing with 400m x 100m towards the zone forms in upper (20 to 60 m) and are intersected across the entire lease. northern extremities of the project. horizons dominated by maghemite and The Western and Eastern units comprise the Drilling has confirmed the continuity of the kenomagnetite, hematite and goethite high-grade mineralisation domains, while BIF and mineralisation to depths of 450m after magnetite. the Middle zone is typically lower grade and below surface. often barren. This unit forms an overturned north-south Drilling at Eastern Limb is spaced at 100m x striking ridge through the North Star area Data used for Mineral Resource 50m with the extremities at 400m x 100m. of the deposit, dipping steeply westwards. Estimation Drilling has confirmed the continuity of the Several vertical faults have been interpreted Reverse circulation drill sampling was BIF and mineralisation to depths of 450m to rotate the Pincunah Member to north- conducted under the supervision of IBJV below surface. west, parallel to the Mount Yule Granite personnel, with whole sample processing Drilling at Glacier Valley is spaced at 200m x complex in the north-west region of the through rig-mounted cone splitters to produce 100m with the extremities at 400m x 100m, project area. two 3-5 kg splits per 2 m interval. One sample and a small area of infill at 100m x 100m. The hanging wall of the Pincunah Member was dedicated to assay work (standard XRF, Drilling has confirmed the continuity of the is the Kangaroo Caves Formation and is SatMagan, DTR) while the second is reserved BIF and mineralisation to depths of 450m composed of BIF bands interlayered with for QAQC or additional test work as required. below surface. laminated, micro to mesobanded shales and A visual assessment of the RC sample quality Drilling at West Star was completed with chert. BIF units are up to 15 m in thickness was recorded for each 2 m interval, with around holes spaced 100 metres along lines and occur most commonly immediately 99% of intervals logged as being “good”. separated 200 to 300 metres apart. Drilling adjacent to the Pincunah Member contact, Snowden notes that the logging of sample has confirmed the continuity of the BIF while the remainder of the formation is quality was highly subjective and can be and mineralisation to depths of over 300 m dominated by shales and cherts. considered indicative only. below surface. The footwall of the Pincunah Member Samples collected from the cone splitter All data is logged electronically to ensure consists of a sequence of shale and are equivalent to approximately 6-7% of data integrity and protection, and Fortescue sandstone layers, termed the Eastern Shale the total sample for each 2 m interval. Cone follows stringent QAQC procedures in data and Quartzite, grading upwards into the splitters were the preferred splitting method handling and testing, including validation sandstones and conglomerates of the used as they provide a reasonable quality of drill hole coordinates, assay samples and Corboy Formation. Outcrop of the contact is sample in both wet and dry conditions. lab standards, field duplicates, twin holes, marked by a high-relief zone of silicification The sample condition was recorded with and round robin laboratory audits. Field before transitioning into white interbedded approximately 77% of RC sample intervals duplicates show an acceptable level of shale and sandstone beds with fine scale logged as being dry with very little ground precision has been achieved and standards mesobanding and laminations. water encountered. (both pulp and coarse) generally fall within Mineralisation All 2 m RC samples were assayed at Ultra acceptable limits. Spectrolab was used for a Trace (Bureau Veritas), which is a