Freehill Mining advances development activities at Yerbas Buenas magnetite project
Freehill Mining’s maiden resource for the YB1 structure totals 18.4Mt at 15.1% iron, with a concentrate grade of 68.4% iron.
Following a management shake-up last month, Freehill Mining (ASX: FHS) has confirmed it will be advancing activities across two workstreams at its wholly-owned Yerbas Buenas magnetite project in Chile.
The company said it was focused on assessing the viability of a re-start at the original YB1 mine, as well as conducting in-fill drilling at the much larger YB6 target to refine geological and mine modelling for the project.
Environmental work and permitting for the in-fill program is underway with all necessary reports being prepared for submission to the relevant authorities.
Additional assaying of 2019 drill core is being undertaken and desktop work is ongoing to better define the relevant models.
Trial mining
At the YB1 mine, Freehill’s restructured management team has been assessing opportunities to re-commence trial mining with a view to scaling up the project to a more robust and longer-term operation.
Given robust iron ore prices and continued growth in demand from potential domestic and international offtake customers, Freehill said Yerbas Buenas could be well-placed to deliver a reliable supply of quality magnetite ore.
The company is in the process of applying to extend an option to re-commence trial mining while the assessment work is being done.
El Dorado prospect
Freehill is also progressing exploration at the adjoining and highly-prospective El Dorado copper-gold prospect, with an initial drilling program likely to begin next month subject to the receipt of final approvals.
A geological survey of the southern portion of El Dorado was recently completed and the results will be integrated with past geophysical results to best define drill locations.
The drilling contract is being finalised, and settlement of drill hole locations required to formalise the contract is pending.
Commencement of an environmental baseline study – a requirement for initial drilling on the El Dorado tenements – will also start this month, after which an application will be made to Chilean mining authority Sernageomin for drilling approval.