Radio Hill Project Overview
The Radio Hill Iron Ore property comprises a 1,800 hectare land package located 85 km southwest of Timmins, Ontario. Unlike many bulk-tonnage iron ore projects, Radio Hill is located in close proximity to infrastructure being transected by a heavy gauge portion of CN Railway's mainline and includes an active rail siding. There is power onsite, water in the immediate vicinity and highway 101 to Timmins is located 8 km to the north, by way of a well-travelled CN Railway service road.
On the western side of the property is the 4 km long Radio Hill Iron Formation which hosts the historic resource. The name 'Radio Hill' is a result of the iron formation forming a hill above the surrounding relief, in which a radio tower was located in the 1960s. This hill makes the formation more amenable to open pit mining methods.
An estimated $10 million (2011 dollars) of work was undertaken at Radio Hill between 1959 and 1965 with no iron exploration having occurred since. This work was done on a 2600 meter long section of the formation. This work included 140 diamond drill holes, 3000 tonnes in bulk samples and full metallurgical test work. The result of this work culminated in a reserve and feasibility study.
In 2011 Rogue initiated the first iron exploration campaign at Radio Hill since 1965. A 10,000 meter drill program started in August and as of January, 2012, 24 holes had been completed.
An airborne VTEM and magnetic survey was conducted on the entire 12,000 hectare property, including Nat River, in 2008 by Geotech Ltd. Both the Radio Hill and Nat River formations are clearly defined by geophysics.
Historical Work
The formation outcrops at 1,440 feet (440 m) above sea level, along the crest of Radio Hill, which protrudes approximately 200 feet (60 m) above the surrounding area. Historical resource estimates are calculated to varying depths ranging from 680 feet (210 m) to 200 feet (60 m) above sea level, depending on the pit shell. Historic drilling and geophysics suggest mineralization continues well beyond the open pit constraints. The Radio Hill deposit has been economically enhanced and thickened by folding. The banded iron formation (BIF) strikes east-west and is open down-plunge to the northwest.Historic resource estimates (non NI 43-101 compliant) were calculated on the Radio Hill portion only using various pit shells and depths:
A feasibility study was conducted by FENCO Ltd. in 1965 with reserve limitations and optimization based on the market for a 1.2 million long tons per annum pellet operation and calculated assuming 14.5% magnetic iron cut off, hence the smaller pit.
The historical estimates and feasibility values mentioned are not in accordance with the mineral resources or mineral reserves classifications contained in the CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, as required by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). Accordingly, the Company is not treating these historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves as defined in NI 43-101 and such historical estimates should not be relied upon. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to date to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The term "ore" is being used in a descriptive sense for historical accuracy, and is not to be misconstrued as representing current economic viability.
Historical Work
The Radio Hill iron deposit is located in the Archean-aged northern Swayze Greenstone Belt. It is hosted in a stratigraphic sequence composed of sedimentary and volcanic rocks that are bound to the south by the Kukatush pluton and to the north by the Nat River igneous complex. The iron formation has a complex geologic history and has been metamorphosed to greenschist facies, folded and faulted, intruded by mafic dikes, oxidized by deep weathering and subsequently glaciated.
Iron formations around the world are composed of iron oxides and assorted gangue minerals. Ore minerals are the iron oxides magnetite, hematite and goethite. North American iron formations can be subdivided into two types, Great Lakes or Superior-type and Algoma-type. These iron formations host iron ores which
can be further subdivided into direct shipping and taconite ores. Direct shipping ores contain more than 60% iron and are usually composed of hematite and goethite with lesser amounts of magnetite. Taconite ores are lower in grade but can be upgraded to produce a marketable product by metallurgical processes that concentrate magnetite and/or hematite and, to a lesser degree, goethite. Taconite ores are typically composed of alternating bands of magnetite and/or hematite and waste minerals. The authors consider that the Radio Hill deposit should be classified as an Algoma-type taconite mineralization. The Soudan Mine in Tower, Minnesota, the Sherman Mine in Temagami, Ontario, and the Helen Mine in Wawa, Ontario, are examples of mines developed on Algoma-type iron deposits. The Sherman Mine was a taconite operation similar to the Radio Hill deposit.
Exploration Results
Rogue completed a 10,500 meter drill program in May, 2012. The first phase, which consisted of twinning approximately 3,000 meters of historic holes, was completed in November 2011. This phase tested the southern extent of the deposit and drilling is now focused on the thicker, central portion. Results for the final holes were announced on August 2, 2012. For a summary of the results of the program the reader is directed to the News section.
In the 1960's, prior to the use of X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis used to calculate total iron percent, assay labs determined iron content using more traditional chemical methods which calculated soluble iron percent. Preliminary geological modeling by Rogue indicates the past work had outlined the geology reasonably accurately; however, the assay results from historical, acid-soluble analysis, are not sufficiently consistent with recent results analyzed for total iron content using XRF followed by Davis Tube tests (Figure 2). XRF results in new assays return higher values for values for iron than the acid soluble iron methods and for this reason the historical assay values will be of limited value in calculating a resources
estimate. It is anticipated that completion of the 10,000 meter diamond drill program will be required to compete the resource estimate.
*Hole RH-08-01 was drilled in 2008, for property assessment purposes, on non-iron targets and was not analyzed for iron content until Sept, 2011.
Metallurgy
During 1963, grinding and concentrating tests were conducted by Lakefield Labs at its pilot plant on 190 long tons taken from four trenches cut within the Radio Hill resource area. Laboratory grinding and flotation testing continued into 1964.A summary of the chemistries of the concentrate feed and pellets is presented in the below table.
Figure 3. Chemical Analysis for Concentrate, FENCO 1965
Concentrates of this grade receive a considerable premium. Iron concentrates are priced at 62% (http://www.platts.com/DailyIronOreBenchmark) with each additional 1% of iron receiving a premium of $3.50 - $5.00.
No documentation of specific metallurgical testing on the Nat River Iron Formation was found during the property review conducted by Micon International Ltd. in 2010. All historic metallurgical work focused on the primary Radio Hill iron resource and as it was done prior to National Instrument 43-101 standards should not be relied upon and will have to be redone.
Technical Reports
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