Miramar Resources outlines 411Mt-2353Mt at 25-30% Fe exploration target at Whaleshark
Project close to mining, processing, power, transport and shipping infrastructure
Passive seismic survey shows project amenable to inexpensive aircore drilling
Special Report: A monster magnetite exploration target is defined at Miramar’s Whaleshark project in WA.
By using modelled geophysical data, geological logging and assay results from historical drilling the company has outlined a significant potential volume of 411Mt-2,353Mt at 25-30% Fe – with the midpoint in the order of 1 billion tonnes.
You read that right. Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) is confident the scale of the potential magnetite iron mineralisation at Whaleshark compares favourably with several large magnetite projects within WA.
Particularly since drilling in the area is limited to historic vertical RC holes, many of which did not reach basement, along with vertical aircore holes completed in 2022, where several ended in 15% to 32.5% Fe.
Given the significant size of the exploration target, the increasing demand for magnetite ore and the proximity to existing infrastructure, the company plans to complete further work to assess the potential to produce a high-quality magnetite ore and/or concentrate from Whaleshark.
Strong demand for green iron
Miramar executive chairman Allan Kelly said that along with significant copper and gold potential, the Whaleshark project had the potential to host a substantial “green iron” project.
“There is strong demand for magnetite from steel producers looking to reduce their carbon emissions through production of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI), which requires the higher grades obtained from magnetite iron ore to be effective,” Kelly said.
“Whaleshark has several large magnetite-rich banded iron formations that have not been previously targeted or explored for magnetite iron mineralisation.”
Seismic survey highlights shallow mineralisation
The company has also recently completed a passive seismic survey to map the depth to basement and basement topography, and with the data confirming these magnetite-rich banded iron formation lie under relatively shallow cover.
This is important because Miramar’s 2022 aircore drilling was able to reach depths of up to 147m – meaning that basement across most of the project is amenable to testing with relatively inexpensive aircore drilling.
Now the new passive seismic data will be used along with recent and historical geochemical and geophysical data to plan future exploration for gold, copper and magnetite at Whaleshark.
Graph: Whaleshark exploration target compared with selected WA magnetite projects. Source: M2R.
Next steps
The company believes there is potential for multiple styles of mineralisation at Whaleshark including:
BIF-hosted, orogenic and/or intrusion related gold (e.g. Homestake, Hemi);
Iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) (e.g. Ernest Henry, Starra); and
Magnetite iron (e.g. Maitland River, Miaree)
Exploration work planned for 2024 includes initial drill testing of Blackfish magnetite targets followed by Davis Tube Recovery (DTR) testing to determine the potential grade of a magnetite concentrate.
Further aircore drilling of shallow geochemical and/or structural targets will also be completed to estimate a maiden JORC-compliant resource.
This article was developed in collaboration with Miramar Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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