Cobre and Iron Glen Update

RNS Number : 0986S

Strategic Minerals PLC

15 November 2011

 



For immediate release: 0700hrs Tuesday 15 November 2011

Strategic Minerals plc

("Strategic Minerals", "SML" or the "Company")

Cobre and Iron Glen Update

Strategic Minerals (AIM: SML), the magnetite production and exploration company, is pleased to provide an update on its Cobre and Iron Glen projects. 

Highlights 

·     First phase of Cobre Stockpile Project on track to achieve planned rail freighted shipments of magnetite to customers by late Q1 2012; and

·     Assay results from Iron Glen and Lead Belly expected by end of 2011.

Cobre Stockpile Project

Further to the announcement of 1 November, the Company has completed its third payment on the rail spur upgrade. Track vegetation clearing and initial surveys have now been completed with the rail upgrade programme due to complete on-schedule. This will allow SML to begin rail-freighting magnetite from the stockpile to potential US and offshore customers by the end of Q1 2012, the first truck based freighting from the stockpile to a US domestic customer having taken place in September.

To support the rail freighting initiative, multiple rail car lease negotiations and inspections have now commenced to ensure the appropriate transport fleet is in place by the end of Q1 2012.

In addition, the site overburden removal has commenced with approximately one quarter of the overburden removal works now completed. The overburden removal is a critical path item that enables the stockpile to be excavated without restriction.

Separately, dewatering of the magnetite stockpile is also on schedule to begin mid November. This activity will ensure that the lower section of the stockpile is at a suitable moisture level for customers.

Iron Glen Update

Further to the announcement of 8 August 2011, Strategic Minerals has completed a total of 35 drill holes totaling 3,588 m of reverse circulation and 864 m of diamond drilling at the Iron Glen prospect. All field work has now been completed and final analytical results are pending. These results will include Davis Tube Recovery tests to provide an understanding of the metallurgical properties of the mineralization. Compilation of the drilling data for the Iron Glen pit mineralization is underway with the goal to determine a preliminary resource estimate prior to the end of 2011. In addition, the Company expects to have received an analysis of the preliminary exploration drilling carried out on the Lead Belly prospect by the end of the year.

David Weidemier, CEO of Strategic Minerals, commented:

"Our strategy is to build a major portfolio of magnetite stockpiles that are able to deliver near term de-risked revenues to the Company to underpin the longer term magnetite exploration activity. We are therefore delighted with the progress being made on our initial stockpile and exploration projects." 

About Strategic Minerals plc

Strategic Minerals plc is a UK registered company focused on building a portfolio of magnetite stockpile projects that generate near-term revenue to underpin its longer term magnetite focused exploration activity. It currently has assets in Australia and the USA, most notably The Cobre Stockpile in New Mexico  and the Iron Glen tenement in Queensland.

The Cobre Stockpile has been assessed to JORC standards and is estimated to contain over 1.5 million metric tonnes of magnetite at an average grade of 61.7% Fe grade of which an estimated 800,000 million metric tonnes is at over 64% Fe grade.

Strategic Minerals' main exploration activity is currently taking place at the Iron Glen Tenement located approximately 40 kilometres southwest of Townsville, Queensland. The Company additionally has in principle agreements for the purchase of tenements in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

For further information

Company
Strategic Minerals plc
David Weidemier	[phone]
Nominated Adviser/Broker
Allenby Capital Limited	[phone]
Brian Stockbridge/James Reeve
Joint-Broker
Daniel Stewart & Company Plc	[phone]
Sean Lunn/Oliver Rigby Financial Public Relations
GTH Communications Limited	[phone]
Toby Hall/Suzanne Johnson Walsh

For more information about Strategic Minerals, please go to http://strategicminerals.co.uk. 

You can also follow the Company on Twitter @StrategicMinrls as well as Facebook and LinkedIn.

 

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