Iron Road Limited Stock Market Press Releases and Company Profile
Iron Road Limited (ASX:IRD) Quarterly Report For The Period Ending 30 June 2010
Iron Road Limited (ASX:IRD) Quarterly Report For The Period Ending 30 June 2010

Perth, Aug 2, 2010 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Iron Road Limited (googlechartASX:IRD) continued its high level of activities aimed at advancing the flagship Central Eyre Iron Project, which is currently under pre-feasibility study for a significant magnetite concentrate export operation. A major drilling programme concluded at the Boo-Loo and Dolphin prospects culminating in a significant upgrade to the existing mineral resource. At the Gawler Iron Project an extensive RC drilling programme commenced.

Projects

South Australia - Central Eyre Iron Project

The Central Eyre Iron Project (663km2) is located on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia and consists of three distinct prospects - Warramboo (including Boo-Loo), Kopi and Hambidge. The project is located in a grain farming area with good infrastructure. Community relationships and support is excellent with great interest shown in possible development scenarios.

Boo-Loo Mineral Resource Expansion

The first drilling programme at the Central Eyre Iron Project for 2010 was completed on 29 April 2010. The programme comprised 14,490m of RC and diamond drilling. Large diameter metallurgical and geotechnical holes were drilled after this programme to support the ongoing prefeasibility study (PFS) at the project. The PFS is scheduled for completion in early 2011.

Resources at the project now stand at 328Mt, a tripling of the previous resource. Iron Road has set a corporate goal of further increasing the mineral resource to 500Mt of iron ore at the CEIP by year-end. As a result of the current resource increase, Iron Road remains confident of achieving this objective. Coffey Mining has previously established an exploration target of 2.8 to 5.7 billion tonnes of magnetite gneiss at the project(1).

The current Mineral Resource focuses on a 4.2km portion of the project's total strike length of more than 95km. The remainder is currently being selectively drilled and whilst still to be fully tested, is considered by the Company to be similar in scale and quality and is likely to host several substantial deposits.

Stage IV Drilling Programme

The second of several drilling programmes planned by Iron Road at the Central Eyre Iron Project during 2010 commenced on 07 June 2010. The programme is designed to test seven high potential targets that have been selected based on geophysical as well as historical data.

The drilling programme utilises one RC drill rig for pre-collars and two diamond drill rigs for the diamond tails. Since the programme is designed to be scalable (new programmes are subject to PIRSA approval) a third diamond drill rig has been secured.

By the end of the quarter 2,928m had been drilled with all pre-collars complete (excluding Fairview) and diamond drilling well underway at Ben's Hill and Murphy South.

At Murphy South permission was granted by Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (PIRSA) to extend the existing traverse of three holes by an additional five for a total of eight holes. This was requested since significant thicknesses of magnetite gneiss were intersected in the initial three holes suggesting structural thickening and extension of magnetite gneiss to the south. Drill holes completed since the initial request support the proposition and magnetite gneiss of significant thickness has been intersected in the additional holes situated to the south.

It is possible that destructive interference of the magnetic analytic signal across a tight fold structure may be masking the true potential of this area to host a substantial deposit of magnetite. Every drill hole on this traverse has intersected significant magnetite gneiss that in several instances have continuous down hole thicknesses exceeding 120m.

Structural Study

Iron Road engaged Coffey Mining early in the exploratory drilling of Boo-Loo to better understand the structural geology of the prospect and the geology of the tenement as a whole. All diamond core is oriented and logged from a geological, structural and geotechnical point of view. Several structural and geotechnical measurements are routinely made that are analysed to reconstruct the geology and aid in mineral resource modelling. This work is critical since there is no exposure of the geology at CEIP and an understanding of the structural style allows for the construction of a predictive geological model necessary for successful target generation across the tenement.

Pre-Feasibility Study

On 31 March 2010 Iron Road announced that a pre-feasibility study (PFS) of the Central Eyre Iron Project (CEIP) had been awarded to Mineral Engineering Technical Services Pty Ltd (METS).

The PFS encompasses the Central Eyre Iron Project comprising three significant iron occurrences (Warramboo, Kopi & Hambidge) with an exploration target of 2.8-5.7 billion tonnes magnetite gneiss. The PFS commenced during April 2010 and is targeted for completion in early 2011.

The PFS will run in parallel with an aggressive drilling campaign at the CEIP during 2010, significantly accelerating progress at the Project. Completion of a favourable PFS is the next stage of Iron Road's development, as the Company works towards becoming an independent producer of quality iron ore concentrate.

The following companies have been engaged to complete various components of the study.

- Evans & Peck - study oversight, project implementation plan, scheduling, personnel, risk & opportunity management;

- Coffey Mining - geology, geotechnical, structural and mining;

- Mineral Engineering Technical Services (METS) - metallurgical test work (including dry magnetic separation), beneficiation plant design, mine site infrastructure, mine to port concentrate transport and power supply;

- Sinclair, Knight, Mertz (SKM) - Port options and ground water;

- Community Engagement Group Australia (CEGA) - Community engagement and access;

- Aldam Geoscience - approvals pathway; and

- Various consultants are contributing to the marketing, environment, financial analysis portions.

The PFS is on schedule and metallurgical test work is well underway with some early encouraging results. There is strengthening potential for the Central Eyre project to become one of the major magnetite iron ore projects currently under review in Australia.

South Australia - Gawler Iron Project

The Gawler Iron Project is located 25 kilometres north of the Trans Australian Railway and within 100 kilometres of the Central Australia Railway in South Australia. Iron Road has a farm-in agreement with tenement holder Dominion Gold Operations to earn up to 90% interest in the iron ore rights.

Completion of Stage I Drilling

A programme of seventy-one inclined RC drill holes for 6,184m was completed on 15 May 2010, testing geophysical anomalies identified from detailed aeromagnetic and gravity surveys conducted by Iron Road previously. Nine target areas, including six targets below Tertiary cover, were explored by RC drill traverses.

Magnetite-gneiss capped by a 10 to 55m thick zone of oxidized hematite-rich material was encountered at all target areas. The interpreted true thickness of individual magnetite gneiss units is typically in the range 10 to 60m but significantly wider zones are present in areas with structural thickening due to folding and faulting of the rocks. This is particularly evident at the Northwest Fingerpost Hill 1 and Boomer Targets that appear to be the most prospective targets tested.

Northwest Fingerpost Hill 1 is situated in a large-scale antiform which forms a distinct hill with some of the best outcrops of small-scale second-order folding in the project area. It contains significant near-surface hematite-rich mineralisation which extends over a 250m wide zone to a depth of 55m and occurs as a cap on folded magnetite gneiss.

The Boomer prospect is a newly discovered magnetite deposit situated below 25m of cover. The magnetite mineralization has a thin cap of hematite-rich mineralization and occurs in an up to 110m wide zone of steeply dipping and complexly folded and faulted magnetite. The magnetite gneiss has been traced along strike for at least 500m and is also open at depth.

Stage I drilling clearly demonstrates the important correlation between geophysics and the distribution of iron formation. The general trace of magnetic units is apparent in the aeromagnetic data but the nearsurface locations of significant bodies of iron formation invariably coincide with gravity highs. The gravity data has been used to estimate the potential strike continuation of major Iron Formations intersected in the drilling.

Monitoring of Drilling Programme

Several Antakarinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara native title claimants took part in a successful visit to site during the Stage I drilling programme. This forms part of an ongoing monitoring programme of drilling operations at Gawler.

Pace Grant

The South Australian Government awarded Iron Road a grant for diamond drilling at the Gawler Iron Project. Funding to the level of A$60,000 has been approved as part of the South Australian Government's Plan for Accelerating Exploration (PACE) initiative under Theme 2 - Drilling Collaboration between PIRSA and Industry. Only 23 projects from 63 proposals were successful.

The Gawler area has until now not been systematically explored for iron ore despite reconnaissance drilling of surface outcrops by the South Australian government in the 1960's identifying several BIFhosted iron deposits. A proposed diamond drilling programme planned as part of Stage II drilling, supported by the approved PACE funding, will test several targets tested during Stage I drilling as well as a new untested target.

This contribution towards the cost of Stage II drilling is considered an important endorsement of Iron Road's exploration effort in the underexplored north-western area of the Gawler Craton.

Current Work

A report for the Stage I drilling programme is in final preparation. Stage II drilling programme planning is underway and an EWA for submission to PIRSA is being finalised. The Company's metallurgical consultants have made recommendations for a test work programme and several drill holes from Stage II drilling will be dedicated for this purpose.

CORPORATE

Iron Road continued discussions with potential industrial partners with a view to further accelerating activities at its Central Eyre Iron Project.

Appointment of Geology Manager

Iron Road Limited has appointed Mr Milo Res as Geology Manager to manage all aspects of the geology function with particular emphasis on the CEIP.

Mr Res is a geologist, with approximately 30 years mining industry experience in Australia and Africa. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) Geology degree from University of Pretoria and MSc Geology degree from Potchefstroom University in South Africa.

During his career Mr Res has been involved in wide range of mining and exploration activities including gold, nickel and iron ore. He was a key member of the Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (googlechartASX:FMG) (googlechartPINK:FSUMF) team developing the Cloudbreak iron ore mining project in the Pilbara and more recently actively participated in the Jack Hills magnetite/hematite mining and development project for Crosslands Resources in the mid-west region of Western Australia.

(1) Refer ASX Announcement dated 01 September 2009 and notices at the back of this release.

For the complete Iron Road Quarterly Report including tables and figures, please refer to the following link:
http://www.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/63456-ASX-IRD-499669.pdf

Contact

Andrew Stocks
Managing Director
Iron Road Limited
Tel: +61-8-9200-6020
Mob: +61-403-226-748
Email: admin@ironroadlimited.com.au
www.ironroadlimited.com.au



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