aki boosts mayoko's jorc by 267% to 121mt ...

[Source: www.proactiveinvestors.com.au]

African Iron boosts Mayoko Project's JORC Hematite Resource by 267% to 121Mt
Thursday, October 27, 2011

African Iron (ASX: AKI) has delivered a hematite JORC Resource of 121 million tonnes at its 92% owned Mayoko Iron Ore Project in the Republic of Congo, representing a 267% increase on the initial Resource.

Importantly, the new Resource now enables African Iron to initiate a pre-feasibility study with a primary focus on early cash flow from mining DSO, and thereafter bDSO material, and the export of 5Mtpa of iron ore. Results are expected in mid-2012.

The Resource update was prepared and classified by independent consultancy Golder Associates Pty Ltd.

The Resource now comprises an Indicated and Inferred hematite direct shipping ore (DSO) component of 44 million tonnes at 55% iron and an Inferred beneficiable DSO component of 77 million tonnes at 41% iron.

Improved geological confidence from infill drilling has enabled 58% or 25 million tonnes of the DSO mineral resource to be classified as Indicated.

Ian Burston, African Iron’s independent, non-executive chairman, said “shareholders can look forward to further resource growth and value creation in 2012 with only 28% of the known Mt Lekoumou to Mt Mipoundi mineralised strike drilled, and beyond 2012 with Mt Lekoumou to Mt Mipoundi representing only two of the known prospects contained within the company’s 1000 square kilometre Mayoko Exploration Licence."

Metallurgical testwork has revealed that this material will readily produce a saleable lump and fines product through simple screen scalping of ultra fines to remove silica, and crushing and screening.

Scalped fines will subsequently be treated in the bDSO circuit. Interestingly, a similar scalping process is used at the Frances Creek hematite iron ore mine located 200 kilometres south of Darwin.

The bDSO Resource represents iron enriched banded iron formation (BIF) above fresh magnetite bearing BIF.

Sighter metallurgical testwork has shown the bDSO material readily produces a saleable fines product with low levels of deleterious elements through crushing and screening followed by a combination of conventional dense media, and gravity separation.

Significantly, this Resource covers only Mount Lekoumou, which represents only 28% or 1.8km of the more than 6.5 kilometres of mineralised Mount Lekoumou to Mount Mipoundi strike.

Drilling with five drill rigs on site will now shift focus to the Mount Mipoundi area, to further increase the resource size. The company expects a maiden Resource at Mount Mipoundi at the end of March 2012.


Ends.