Micrex Development, a mineral exploration company, declared the progression of the drilling project at its St. Charles magnetite deposit located in Québec. An aeromagnetic survey conducted before revealed a minimum of 30% increase in the deposit’s size. The entire holes were drilled at 45º and the ore body plunges 80º to the east. Holes are slanting vertically to the magnetite trend.
So far, drilling has been done for three holes, SB-11-01, SB-11-02 and SB-11-03, and work is continuing in the fourth hole SB-11-04.
Initial logging of the main indicates encouraging results. The holes encountered mineralized intersection of huge magnetite and profuse apatite. This type of ore called "cumberlandite", is quite similar to the nelsonite.
The company drilled the holes SB-11-02 and SB-11-01 along a profile vertical to the 3 km long magnetic anomaly defined by the aeromagnetic survey in 2011. The hole SB-11-01 crisscrossed 28.1 m of continuous magnetite at a main-angle of around 45°; the second hole SB-11-02 crisscrossed two intervals of near massive magnetite of 18.75 m and 33.9 m with a main-angle of 45°. These intersections indicate a collective width of no less than 20 m of near massive apatite-magnetite ore. The third hole SB-11-03 was drilled on a segment 75 m to the south of the prior drill holes.
Initial logging suggests an interval of 6.6 m of semi-massive magnetite from 63.4 to 70 m, and this is followed by over 10 m of apatite-rich huge magnetite between 72.25 and 83.5 m. Apatite ranges from 25% to 30% in volume with grains of 1 to 2 mm. The company also intercepted a number of other intervals of magnetite ore.
The project’s progression follows the first plan with each hole measuring 100 m in length and drill pads located 100 m apart. The company is happy with the initial results of the drilling project that showed substantial apatite and huge magnetite deposits.