iron ore - reposted 2 reports now

2 reports

This doesn't seem to get much att'n on this site. Has oil & gas interests as well

Only 40m shares

Dropped 15c last thur

Sphere Investments Limited
ABN 66 009 134 847
Level 3, 28 Kings Park Road
West Perth 6005
Western Australia
Telephone: + 61 8 9322 5222
Facsimile: + 61 8 9322 5444

e-mail:[email protected]
ASX ANNOUNCEMENT
RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2005
TO: Manager Companies
Australian Stock Exchange
Company Announcements Office
CONTACT: Alexander Burns (08 9322 5222)

RE: Mauritania Iron Ore Prices for 2005
PAGES: 1 of 1

Dear Sir/Madam
Sphere’s Joint Venture partner, Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM), has reached
agreement on 2005 iron ore prices with its major customer in Europe, Arcelor.
In line with settlements made by CVRD in Japan and Europe, the price of SNIM’s Tazadit fines
(TXF) has increased by 71.5%, from 41.35USc/MTU (US$26.50/t) to 70.92USc/MTU
(US$45.50/t), FOB Nouadhibou, Mauritania.
Last week CVRD announced that they had also agreed a price increase of 86.5% increase for
Blast Furnace (BF) pellets with Arcelor. The benchmark price of BF pellets, FOB Tubarao, has
increased from 61.88USc/MTU (US$40.50/t) to 115.51USc/MTU (US$75.60/t).
The price of Direct Reduction (DR) pellets for 2005 has yet to be established. DR pellets
traditionally attract a 7.5% premium over BF pellet prices.
Sphere is carrying out a BFS on the 7Mt/a Guelb el Aouj DR pellet project in Mauritania.
Yours sincerely
Sphere Investments Limited
Alexander Burns
Managing Director


This doesn't seem to get much att'n on this site

Only 40m shares

Dropped 15c last thur

Sphere Investments Limited
ABN 66 009 134 847
Level 3, 28 Kings Park Road
West Perth 6005
Western Australia
Telephone: + 61 8 9322 5222
Facsimile: + 61 8 9322 5444

e-mail:[email protected]
ASX ANNOUNCEMENT
RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2005
TO: Manager Companies
Australian Stock Exchange
Company Announcements Office
CONTACT: Alexander Burns (08 9322 5222)

RE: Mauritania Iron Ore Prices for 2005
PAGES: 1 of 1

Dear Sir/Madam
Sphere’s Joint Venture partner, Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM), has reached
agreement on 2005 iron ore prices with its major customer in Europe, Arcelor.
In line with settlements made by CVRD in Japan and Europe, the price of SNIM’s Tazadit fines
(TXF) has increased by 71.5%, from 41.35USc/MTU (US$26.50/t) to 70.92USc/MTU
(US$45.50/t), FOB Nouadhibou, Mauritania.
Last week CVRD announced that they had also agreed a price increase of 86.5% increase for
Blast Furnace (BF) pellets with Arcelor. The benchmark price of BF pellets, FOB Tubarao, has
increased from 61.88USc/MTU (US$40.50/t) to 115.51USc/MTU (US$75.60/t).
The price of Direct Reduction (DR) pellets for 2005 has yet to be established. DR pellets
traditionally attract a 7.5% premium over BF pellet prices.
Sphere is carrying out a BFS on the 7Mt/a Guelb el Aouj DR pellet project in Mauritania.
Yours sincerely
Sphere Investments Limited
Alexander Burns
Managing Director


Recent share prices

24 Mar 2005 0.800 -15.79% 0.960 0.760 214,500
23 Mar 2005 0.950 -9.52% 1.000 0.950 43,616
22 Mar 2005 1.050 0% 1.060 1.050 101,800
21 Mar 2005 1.050 0% 1.050 1.010 4,522

Page 1 of 5
Sphere Investments Limited
ASX ANNOUNCEMENT
RELEASE DATE: 2 March 2005
TO: Manager Companies
Australian Stock Exchange
Company Announcements Office
CONTACT: John Bylsma (08 9322 5222)
RE: Expanded iron ore exploration activities in Mauritania,
West Africa

Dear Sirs
The Company plans to expand its iron ore exploration activities in Mauritania as follows:
Next Phase of Work on the Guelb el Aouj Iron Ore Pellet Project
Following the successful completion of Stage 1 of the BFS, the Company has signed a contract to
commence the next phase of drilling at Guelb el Aouj in mid-March (Stage 2A). Stage 1 focused on
Guelb el Aouj Centre Deposit and, as reported to the ASX on 20th October 2004, identified an
Inferred Resource of 225Mt at 36%Fe, yielding a magnetite concentrate grading 70.6%Fe at a mass
recovery of 45.6%. The Stage 1 results also showed that concentrates produced from the Centre
Deposit are capable of producing Direct Reduction (DR) grade pellets suitable for DRI producers,
particularly those in North Africa and the Middle East.
Stage 2A will focus on the Guelb el Aouj East Deposit, one of three large magnetite-quartzite
deposits that form the Guelb el Aouj area (the other two being Centre and West deposits – see map
below). Stage 2A will include approximately 10,000m of reverse circulation (RC) percussion and
diamond drilling and is designed primarily to boost the identified mineral resources for the Guelb el
Aouj project. An extensive program of metallurgical testwork will be performed on a representative
composite sample of magnetite-quartzite from the East Deposit by SGA in Germany. Following
completion of this work, the joint venture partners will be in a better position to select the most
appropriate initial mining area from Centre Deposit and East Deposit.
Other Exploration Prospects in the JV Area
Sphere and SNIM’s joint venture area (see map below), as well as containing the three Guelb el
Aouj deposits, also includes two other guelbs – Tinterkrat el Beida and Guelb Bou Derga – situated
in the southern region and known from historical exploration by SNIM to contain magnetite-quartzite
mineralisation. Sphere is currently formulating an exploration program for 2005 for these deposits.
Page 2 of 5
Page 3 of 5
Exploration Licence 172
In addition to the Guelb el Aouj joint venture with SNIM, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sphere also
holds a 996km2 Group 1 (for iron ore) Exploration Licence (EL 172). This tenement lies to the south
of the Guelb el Aouj joint venture area and contains two significant Archaean magnetite-quartzite
deposits, Amechchekkel el Akhdar and Amechchekkel el Abiod. These are located approximately
25km south of SNIM’s operating mines at the Kedia Idjill, near Zouérate, and are within 8km of
SNIM’s mainline railway. Geological mapping at a scale of 1:20,000 undertaken by the Company’s
Exploration Manager - Africa, Dr Schalk van der Merwe, in late 2004 has indicated that these
deposits, particularly Amechchekkel el Akhdar, have sizeable outcrops of magnetite-quartzite and
favourable fold structures, as shown in the maps below.
Page 4 of 5
A limited reconnaissance drilling program is planned for Q2 2005 to gain a preliminary
understanding of the geology at depth.
A summary comparison of these magnetite-quartzite deposits is shown below:
Deposit
Approximate. area of
magnetite-quartzite
outcrop (Ha)
Drilling Program Inferred JORC
Resource (Mt)
JV Area
Guelb el Aouj Centre (SW
Lens)
32 April – June 2004 225
Guelb el Aouj East (SW Lens) 56 Commence March ‘05 Oct ‘05
EL 172
Amechchekkel el Akhdar
38 Q2 2005 -
Amechchekkel el Abiod
(Southern Ridge)
17 Q2 2005 -
Application for a new EL over the Lebtheyniye iron deposit
Sphere has also applied for a Group 1 Exploration Licence over the Lebtheyniye (pronounced “Lebthay-
neya”) Archean magnetite-schist/magnetite-quartzite deposit (see map below). Initial
exploration work on the deposit was conducted by SNIM in the early 1980’s and included geological
mapping at 1:20,000 scale, 4,094m of open hole percussion drilling and 2,021m of diamond drilling
on drill lines situated 1km apart along a 25km strike length with an average outcrop width of 400m.
Metallurgical testwork conducted by SNIM on approximately 2,000 three metre drill samples
showed that a magnetite concentrate containing on average 70%Fe at approximately 26% mass
recovery could be produced in the Davis Tube at a 40micron grind size from an average head grade
of 31.5%Fe.
Page 5 of 5
Yours sincerely
Alexander Burns
Managing Director
The information in this report as it relates to Exploration Results and exploration targets was
prepared by Mr Richard Harmsworth, who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy and is competent in the field of activity being reported and has consented to the
inclusion of this information in the form and context in which it appears in this report.