Ferrex has begun resource drilling at its Malelane iron ore project in the prospective Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. They intend to cover 2,700 meters over 4 months to make the make the first JORC compliant resource by the opening quarter of 2012.
Dave Reeves the Managing Director of Ferrex said that the drilling campaign forms part of a larger exploration programme which should allow resources to be defined over both the high grade zones and the main deposit enabling rapid assessment of the economic potential of the project.
He added that they looked forward to fast-tracking the development of this project with a view to early production with an overall exploration target of 775-930Mt at 34-36% Fe. The company began initial exploration on the project as early as 2008.
Resource drilling will also test the northern banded iron formation where previous intercepts of 212m at 37% Fe and 200m at 34% Fe were recorded. The Malelane Iron Ore Project is located 6km from a direct rail link to the port of Maputo in Mozambique 175 km away. Malelane lies approximately 350km east of Johannesburg in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa.
Ferrex’s current property portfolio comprises iron ore (Malelane) and manganese (Leinster) projects in South Africa and a manganese project (Changara) in Mozambique, all of which offer the potential for significant near-term value uplift.