Rogue Resources Inc. has announced the first results from Phase 1 drilling on its Radio Hill Iron ore project near Timmins, Ontario.
The Radio Hill property is transected by a heavy gauge portion of the CN Rail mainline with an active rail siding. There is power and water in the immediate vicinity and highway 101 to Timmins is located only 8 km to the north of present drilling. In addition to the 5 km strike length of the Radio Hill formation the property contains a 12 km long magnetic feature known as the Nat River iron formation which is easily identified in both Company geophysical and government geological maps. The Nat River iron formation has not been explored aside from 6 drill holes in a concentrated area in 1960.
"These iron results are the first for the project in almost 50 years and we are excited by what we are seeing. There are very few iron projects with this type of infrastructure and access to mining expertise and now that we are seeing better than expected results we plan on doing everything we can to ensure we capitalize on our numerous competitive advantages," comments Company President and CEO, Steve de Jong. "We look forward to seeing results from the second phase of drilling which will focus on the thicker portion of the Radio Hill formation as phase one focused primarily on confirming the geological structure in the southern portion outlined in historic work."
To view geological and geophysical maps of the Radio Hill Project including the Nat River Iron Formation please click on the following link:
http://www.brmstatpack.com/lt/1001/1217/radio-hill-geology-and-geophysics
The recently completed first phase of drilling (3,140 metres) was comprised primarily of shallow drilling on the southern limit of the formation and Phase Two will target thicker sections. The first phase was conducted to confirm the historical assays and geological model. Assays for three holes have been received so far and as the Company has consistently submitted drill samples on a weekly basis since September a steady flow of results is expected into the spring. In addition to samples from Phase 1 drilling the Company has submitted core samples for two holes drilled in 2008 (RH 08-01, 02) and one in 2010 (RH 10-01). These holes were drilled for assessment purposes and to test for gold potential within the iron formation and were never analyzed for iron.
The Company has now begun drilling the main portion of the formation in order to complete and publish a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate likely in the inferred category after which point the Company will determine if a PEA is warranted.
The values, estimates, and quotes referenced below and in the section HISTORICAL WORK AT RADIO HILL are used by the Company to provide a target range and help guide exploration and are stated here for information purposes to inform the reader why the Company is interested in the area and should not be relied upon. Accordingly these rough estimates should not be relied upon for making investment decisions. Significant work needs to be completed by the Company prior to any publication of known resources or concentration characteristics of mineralized material at Radio Hill.
The Radio Hill project was first developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Kukatush Mining Corp. who spent an estimated $10 million in 2011 dollars on exploration and metallurgical work, including 140 drill holes and a number of metallurgical studies. Following resource definition, a study to determine the feasibility of a mine being put into production was conducted. The historical feasibility study conducted by FENCO Ltd. indicated a 3.5 concentration ratio (3.5 tons of iron ore produced 1 ton of concentrate) which would produce a high-grade concentrate of between 66% and 68.5%. At that time recovery and pelletizing tests were also conducted which included both laboratory and pilot testing of grinding, concentrating and pelletizing practices (Neal and Ridell, 1965). Historical metallurgical work (shown below) indicated material from Radio Hill could be concentrated to a high-grade, high quality concentrate with minimal residual deleterious elements. As background information for the reader, iron's benchmark price is commonly set using a 62% Fe concentrate with recent premiums for higher grade concentrations as high as $5.00 for every 1% higher than 62%, and even higher increases above the 65% level. Although the rail bed was laid the 3.5km from the railway to Radio Hill, the project never advanced through to production due to weak iron prices.
To help guide exploration strategies at Radio Hill formation the Company has used the historic resource of 427 million tons of 27.3% iron (Gerson 1961) as a target. It is important to note the 27.3% iron refers to acid-soluble iron content whereas resources reported today are often reported using total iron content in addition to other analyses. Total iron content in drilling so far appears to be noticeably higher than the acid-soluble content reported in drilling in the 1960s. A number of drill holes reported today had significant drill intersections between 40 and 50% total iron with Davis Tube weight recoveries as high as 43%.
Highlights from historical reports at Radio Hill:
- Radio Hill Formation (Group): "The potential of this group is estimated at one billion tons." (Gerson 1961, pg2 - reference to a 7,000 foot portion of the 3 mile (4.8 km) Radio Hill Iron Formation after the completion of 52,592 feet of diamond drilling, mapping, geophysical work and a 3,000 ton bulk sample.
- Nat River Formation (Group): "The potential of the magnetite bands as indicated by the ground magnometer survey is estimated at 30,000,000 gross tons of crude ore for every 100 feet of depth." (Gerson 1961, pg3, pg57 - reference to 2500 foot section of the 7.4 mile (12 km) Nat River Iron Formation after the completion of 4,053 feet of diamond drilling. Iron values as high as 39.8% Fe (acid-soluble) were intersected at Nat River although it was unclear from historic reports the widths over which these values occurred.
Given the Radio Hill formation is known to extend below 1200 feet in depth, the tonnage potential for Nat River remains a potential addition to the overall project and could possibly augment future resources at Radio Hill. The entire property had an airborne VTEM and Mag survey completed in 2008 including the Nat River in which both formations are clearly defined. Aside from the airborne survey the Nat River iron formation has not seen any modern day iron exploration.