Cane Bore Iron Project
The Cane Bore Exploration License (application) area, E08/3424, is approximately 90 km from Onslow and the Ashburton Port, and is accessible via the Northwest Coastal Highway and the Mount Stuart Road. Adjacent to tenure held by Minerals Resources Limited and the API Joint Venture, the Cane Bore exploration area is approximately 222 km2. A location plan is included as Figure 1.
Figure 1: Cane Bore (E 8/3424) CID Project Location Plan.
Cane Bore – Historic Rock Chip Sampling
Records of historic rock chip sampling by United States Steel International (New York) Incorporated (US Steel) from two field reconnaissance trips conducted in 1968 and 1969 at the Cane Bore area have revealed grades in upwards of 55% Fe; some 18 rock chip samples were collected over the extent of the exploration license application area, returning assay results between 45% and 54.3% Fe. The historical rock chip sample locations are illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Cane Bore CID outlines detailing 32kms of strike and Rock Chip Sample Locations.
Photo 1: Cane Bore Central B location looking northeast along the CID structure demonstrating suggest that the mesa-forms rise up to 20m from the surrounding, flat-lying ground.
Photo 2: Cane Bore Central B Location looking southwest along the CID structures suggest that the mesa-forms rise to 20m from the surrounding, flat-lying ground.
Cane Bore Background
The exploration license application area is along the western margin of the Hamersley Basin, with the geology dominated by mid-to late Miocene channel iron deposits, which occur as a meandering line of dissected outcrop adjacent to the Cane River. The deposits are flanked by Quaternary alluvial and colluvial deposits related to the Cane River and its tributaries. Outcrop to the north and south of the Quaternary cover sequences, are low-grade greenschist facies sediments (mudstones to conglomerates), felsic to mafic volcanic rock, BIF, and dolostone of the Proterozoic Ashburton Formation. The far western corner of the application is underlain by the Mount Minnie Group, which is comprised of quartz to arkosic sandstone, conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone.
The upper areas of this palaeodrainage system (i.e. outside of E08/3424) were drill assessed by API Management Pty Ltd. In 2016, Red Hill Iron Ltd published JORC 2012 compliant mineral resources in the order of 664Mt at 56.9% Fe for the Cochrane/Jewel, Trixie, Kens Bore and Red Hill Creek deposits[1]. These deposits are proximal to, or within, the Hamersley Range and occur approximately 40km ‘upstream’ from the eastern boundary of Burley’s application.
The closest historical drilling to E08/3424 was completed by Dynasty Metals Australia Ltd (Dynasty) in 2009, where that company drilled an ‘upstream’ part of the Cane River paleaochannel system, approx. 7km to the east of Burley’s ELA, but of a more dissected and discontinuous portion of the palaeochannel.
Data search in GeoVIEW.WA and WAMEX open file database did not reveal any historical drilling for the area subject of the application. The region in general has been explored for manganese, iron ore and for sedimentary-hosted copper-lead-zinc deposits.
The Cane Bore exploration license application area covers a meandering palaeochannel hosting outcropping CID that is more than 30km long with an average width of 400 metres (see Figure 4). The CID paleochannel appears semi-continuous, indicating that it may be well preserved. Available satellite and drone imagery and, topographic data suggest that the mesa-forms rise to 20m from the surround, flat-lying ground. However, depth below the base of the outcrop is unknown, and there is potential a thicker and higher-grade CID profile. No drilling appears to have completed within the tenement application area. Typical CID mesa-forms at Cane Bore are presented in Photos 1 and 2 above.
In addition to the API JV work, in the local region, significant CID resources (or reserves) have been reported including:
- Ken’s Bore of 394 Mt at 56.4% Fe[1] : Mineral Resources Ltd
- Robe Messa of 33.4 Mt at 55% Fe[2] : CZR Resources Ltd
- Robe Valley of 326 Mt at 56.3% Fe[3]: Rio Tinto Iron Ore
Furthermore, Strike Resources have reported a resource of 9.6 Mt at 61.1 % Fe at Paulsens East[4], which is targeting export through Port Hedland.
Next Steps
The exploration licence application is going through the process towards grant of an Exploration Licence. Once granted, the Company intends to complete further detailed on-ground mapping, sampling and then drilling. Detailed mapping and outcrop sampling of the CID is considered an important step in evaluating the grade and tonnage potential of the CID.
Access and Heritage Agreements
Access and Heritage Protection Agreements were signed by the Buurabalayji Thalanyji People (Thalanyji) and the Puutu Kunti Kurrama People and Pinikura People #1 and #2 (PKKP) in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The Thalanjyi have Native Title over the Western section of the Exploration License area; the PKKP have Native Title over the Southern section.
[1] Mineral Resources Ltd, ASX announcement, 22 September 2023 “Minerals Resources and Ore Reserves Update”
[2] CZR Resources, ASX announcement, 10 October 2023, “Outstanding Financial Returns from Robe Mesa DFS”
[3] Rio Tinto Iron Ore, Robe Valley; Proven and Probable Reserves, 31 December 2020.
[4] Strike Resources, ASX announcement, 3 January 2024, “Proposed Divestment of Paulsens East Iron Ore Project”