Alien Metals (LON: UFO | OTCMKTS: ASLRF | FRA: I3A1) posted very encouraging results on Monday from maiden drilling at its Hancock Iron Ore project in Western Australia, confirming the Sirius Extension prospect’s considerable potential.
The company completed maiden drilling in March, consisting of 53 reverse circulation (“RC”) holes and 3,350m of shallow drilling. This took place across the firm’s “priority high grade Direct Shipping Ore (“DSO”) targets”.
There were three main target areas for this drilling, including the Sirius Extension prospect. Sirius adjoins Brockman Mining’s Sirius iron ore project, which has a JORC inferred and indicated mineral resource estimate of 124 million tonnes at 60.32% iron (“Fe”).
Results from the Sirius Extension included 103m at 61.8% Fe from surface, ending in ore, as well as 73m at 59.5% Fe from 6m ending in high-grade ore.
Drilling at the Kalgan prospect returned 18m at 55.1% Fe from surface and 10m at 55% Fe from 3m.
This is in line with historical work by companies Rio Tinto, BHP Group, and Volta Mining. This work outlined the Sirius Extension and Kalgan prospects as areas of high-grade iron ore mineralisation.
Other target areas yielded results of 26m at 54.3% Fe from surface at Ridge C, including 13m at 61.5% from 2m depth. Ridge E drilling found 12m at 60.5% Fe from 4m.
Across Hancock, maiden drilling confirmed “four high grade DSO iron ore prospects”.
Alien’s chief executive and technical director, Bill Brodie Good, called results so far “excellent” and said they “bode well for the potential of this prospect”.
With these latest strong results from Hancock, the firm’s share price jumped more than 4% on Monday. On a one-year basis, its shares are up by close to 1,200% after an extraordinary rise in October.
The company’s follow-up RC program is making good progress and is more than halfway complete, having already drilled 1,300m so far. Alien is hoping this additional drilling with provide enough drill density and data for a maiden resource.
Good commented on this next phase, noting that that “the focus of the follow-up program is to prove up the DSO potential across the other prospect areas” on top of the Sirius Extension’s “known DSO grade iron ore”.
He explained that the firm will use sampling and mapping to study untested tenement areas it believes “have even more potential”.
As the main component of steel, the price of iron ore depends heavily on the construction industry – especially in China, which buys 60% of iron ore from Australia – hitting a record $230 per tonne in May amid post-pandemic stimulus measures. Since then, prices have dipped as the superpower indicated plans to curb rising commodity prices, though with limited success so far.
On top of its iron interests, Alien’s project portfolio includes two silver projects and one copper-gold project in Mexico, two Australian silver projects, and a zinc-lead project in Greenland.
Author: Anna Farley
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