Condor eyes Pilbara manganese and iron ore
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Western Australia-focused iron ore and manganese explorer Condor Metals has received results from a reconnaissance drilling program carried out at the company’s Kallona deposit in the East Pilbara.
Condor Metals identified potential targets on the tenement, covering an area approximately 14 kilometres long by five kilometres wide, after conducting mapping, surface sampling and airborne geophysical work.
“When taken in context these results are very encouraging,” Condor Metals chief operations officer John McKinstry said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“We have now completed wide spaced drilling over a large area of unexplored ground and as a result we have been able to better define the targets for the second round of drilling.
“The manganese intersections cover long distances and are at shallow depths, which provide plenty of potential.
“We look forward to returning and following up on the potential manganese and iron prospects as soon as we receive all of the necessary approvals.”
The recent drilling has returned manganese values of greater than five per cent from ten separate drill holes spread across seven of eleven drill lines.
The most significant manganese intersections include:
– 5 metres at 10.6% manganese from 63 metres;
– 1m at 12.3% manganese from 11m;
– 5m at 12.2% manganese from 11m;
– 8m at 11.5% manganese from 58m; and
– 2m at 7.8% manganese from 37m.
Eleven of the drill lines Condor has completed so far at Kallona Creek intersected banded iron formation of the Marra Mamba Iron Formation.
The thickness of banded iron formation intersected has varied between 5 metres and 15 metres and the company’s interpretation of the drilling data is that this indicates the stratigraphy to be dipping shallowly towards the north.
Assay results returned from the banded iron to date have produced best intersections of:
– 8 metres at 56% iron from 8 metres;
– 5m at 50.9% iron from 12m; and
– 5m at 53.8% iron from 4m.
Condor Metals said infill drill lines will be undertaken in order to test areas of banded iron formation around the better intercepts it has received so far.
Following the success of its Phase 1 drilling program Condor Metals now plans to complete a further six drill lines in the short term.
The company has already had the Program of Work and Cultural Heritage Clearances approved for these and had the drill lines cleared and pegged.
A review of the drilling assay results is now underway in conjunction with an airborne magnetic and electromagnetic (EM) data survey to identify target areas for follow-up geophysics or drill testing.
Subject to approvals and cultural heritage clearances on new drill lines, the second round of drilling is scheduled to commence in late October.