Champion Announces Initial Resource Estimate of 717 Million Tonnes Grading 25% Total Iron at Harvey-Tuttle - Fermont Property Holdings now contain over 1.5 Billion Tonnes grading 25.4% Iron in combined Inferred Mineral Resources at its Fire Lake Nort
- Fermont Property Holdings now contain over 1.5 Billion Tonnes grading 25.4% Iron in combined Inferred Mineral Resources at its Fire Lake North, Bellechasse and Harvey-Tuttle Projects. This represents 3 of 17 claim blocks drilled to-date.
- An additional 613 Million Tonnes grading 31% Iron in combined Historical Mineral Resources(i) are estimated at 7 other Projects within the Fermont Property Holdings.
- The 60,000 m fully funded 2011 drilling campaign is planned and underway on nine properties within the Fermont Property Holdings with the objective to increase resources and convert the historical resource base to NI 43-101 compliance.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/28/11 -- CHAMPION MINERALS INC. (TSX: CHM)(FRANKFURT: P02) ('Champion' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce results of an initial National Instrument ('NI') 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate for the Harvey-Tuttle Project located within Champion's Fermont Property Holdings in northeastern Quebec. The Total Inferred Mineral Resources at Harvey-Tuttle are estimated at 717 Million Tonnes (MT) grading 25.0% Total Iron at a 20% cut-off and 947 MT grading 23.2% Total Iron at a 15% cut-off, the same cut-off used for the Preliminary Economic Assessment ('PEA') of Champion's flagship Fire Lake North Project. The following table presents results of the Total Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate at incremental cut-off grades as validated by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. (Brampton, ON)('P&E').
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Total Inferred Mineral Resources
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Iron Cut-off Grade (%) Million Tonnes Iron Grade (%)
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20% 717 25.0
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15% 947 23.2
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10% 1,049 22.3
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P&E utilized mining costs of US$1.76/Tonne and US$7.17/Tonne for the processing, G&A and freight costs. The process recovery is estimated to be 82% and using an Iron price of US$1.14/dmtu to complete the pit optimization algorithms to estimate the in-situ Inferred Mineral Resources. The results are provided in the following table at the same incremental cut-off grades, and this validates estimates by indicating the portion of the mineral resources that may be potentially economically exploited.
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Total In-Pit Optimized Inferred Mineral Resources
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Iron Cut-off Grade (%) Million Tonnes Iron Grade (%)
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20% 581 25.3
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15% 749 23.6
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10% 793 23.1
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With these positive results, Champion will initiate a PEA of the Harvey-Tuttle Project with BBA Inc. (Montreal, Qc). The PEA will include scoping the optimal cut-off grade and strip ratios in engineered pits and investigate potential synergies of integrating this new resource into Champion's existing PEA of the Fire Lake North Project located 10 km to the east. This will lead to an increased project scope for the planned PEA update and feasibility, expanding the potential growth profile for a centralized concentrator concept fed by several satellite open pit operations conceivably delivering economies of scale, reducing OPEX and increasing mine life.
Champion is planning for a second phase of 12,500 m of diamond drilling at Harvey-Tuttle that is designed to extend and delineate the known higher grade areas, and expects that the average grade of the deposit could potentially increase.
Tom Larsen, President and CEO stated, 'The Harvey-Tuttle project is a large property and the mineral resources identified are from the first pass drilling designed to identify the most significant target areas. The full extent of most zones is still unknown and nearly 50% of the total magnetic responses are yet to be tested. A significant up-side is apparent at Harvey-Tuttle and suggests both the potential for a stand-alone mining/processing operation or integration of this resource into a larger centralized concentrator operation with several open pits included in a mine life schedule when combined with our flagship Fire Lake North Project as well as the Bellechasse Project.'
Iron mineralization at Harvey-Tuttle is predominantly magnetite-quartz rich and in some areas contains core zones of higher grade specularite-magnetite mineralization. Metallurgical testing of samples collected from Harvey-Tuttle are in progress and Champion believes results will demonstrate the mineralization is amenable to produce typical concentrates grading 62 to 65% Iron using conventional gravity and magnetic separation methods.
Orientation metallurgical testing is underway to determine liberation size for optimal grinding and processing methods. BBA Inc. commented, 'The addition of a magnetic separation circuit in the process flow sheet and optimizing grind size can liberate magnetite and yield concentrates grading 62 to 65% Iron. Metallurgical testing will be performed to confirm the appropriate processing methods and concentrate grades that can be achieved for the Harvey-Tuttle resource'.
Mick McMullen, an Advisory Board member of the Company, stated 'the inclusion of this large resource at Harvey-Tuttle into the Fire Lake North Feasibility Study should have a major positive impact on the already robust economics of that project. It is becoming clear that Champion's tenements contain not just one but at least two and potentially several more, properties that can support mine development.'
Drilling is also planned at the O'Keefe-Purdy prospect located adjacent to Harvey-Tuttle. O'Keefe-Purdy hosts a Historical Resource of 51 MT grading 37% Total Iron hosted in three deposits and drilling could potentially increase this significantly.
The Fermont Iron Holdings
Three of the seventeen Projects within the Fermont Property Holdings, namely; Fire Lake North, Bellechasse and Harvey-Tuttle, contain current combined NI 43-101 compliant Inferred Mineral Resources totaling 1.55 Billion Tonnes grading 25.4% Total Iron at a 15% cut-off as detailed in the following table.
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Inferred Mineral Resources @ 15% Total Iron Cut-off
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Project Million Tonnes Iron Grade (%)
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Bellechasse 215 28.7
Fire Lake 388 28.9
Harvey-Tuttle 947 23.2
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Total 1,550 25.4
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Seven other Projects within the Fermont Property Holdings contain additional combined Historical Mineral Resource Estimates(i) totaling 613 MT grading 31% Total Iron.
About Champion Minerals Inc.
Champion is an exploration and development company focused on discovering and developing significant iron ore resources in eastern Canada, particularly in the provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland & Labrador. The Company's projects include the Fermont Property Holdings in Quebec, jointly held by Champion, with an 82.5% interest and Fancamp Exploration Ltd., holding a 17.5% interest, the Attikamagen Iron Project in Quebec and Labrador, and the Powderhorn / Gullbridge Base Metal Projects in central Newfoundland.
(i)Historical Mineral Resources are from Paquet, 1963 (MRNFQ Assessment File GM 13035) (see Champion's press release date February 15, 2011), no cutoff grade was documented in this report. All Historical Mineral Resources outlined in the text are non-compliant to NI 43-101 Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves standards, and should therefore not be relied upon. A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to upgrade or classify these Historical Mineral Resources as current NI 43-101 compliant Mineral Resources. The current Mineral Resource estimates were calculated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council December 11, 2005.
The technical information in this news release was prepared, revised and approved by Alex S. Horvath, P. Eng., Executive VP Exploration and Jeff Hussey, P. Geo., VP Exploration of the Company and Eugene Puritch, P. Eng. of P&E Mining Consultants. All individuals are Qualified Persons under NI 43-101 standards.
Please visit Champion's website at www.championminerals.com.
Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts are 'forward-looking statements' and readers are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual developments or results, may vary materially from those in these 'forward-looking' statements.
Contacts:
Champion Minerals Inc.
Thomas G. Larsen
President and CEO
(416) 866-2200
Champion Minerals Inc.
Jorge Estepa
Vice-President
(416) 866-2200
www.championminerals.com