TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 01/09/13 -- CHAMPION IRON MINES LIMITED (TSX: CHM)(OTCQX: CPMNF)(FRANKFURT: P02) ("Champion", or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results from its updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the East and West deposits underlying the Consolidated Fire Lake North (CFLN) Project (Table 1).
The updated MRE doubles the combined Measured and Indicated Resources in the East and West deposits to 693.5 Million tonnes (Mt) grading 31.5% total Iron (FeT). The Inferred Resources have increased by 10% to 521.6 Mt grading 30.1% FeT at a 15% FeT cut-off grade. Altogether, total resources have increased by 48% in the two deposits.
Thomas Larsen, Champion's President and CEO commented, "Our 2012 drilling campaign was highly successful at upgrading Inferred Resources to Measured and Indicated categories while significantly expanding total resources. The updated resource tonnages position the Fire Lake North deposits among the best in the Labrador Trough in terms of size and grade. The increased resource is close to the tonnage required to double the expected annual concentrate production to 20 Mt, which will have a significant positive impact on the FLN Project economics." Mr. Larsen added, "The new project scope and economics will be presented in the CFLN Project Preliminary Feasibility Study later this month. However, for the Feasibility Study, expected July 2013, we plan additional drilling to further enhance our resource and reserve base to support a 20-year mine plan with 20 Mt of annual concentrate production."
Table 1: Categorized Mineral Resource Estimate at 15% Total Iron Cut-Off(1)---------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Area East Area Total ------------------------------------------------------ Tonnes Grade Tonnes Grade Tonnes Grade (millions) FeT% (millions) FeT% (millions) FeT%----------------------------------------------------------------------------Measured 23.6 35.4 3.0 34.2 26.6 35.2----------------------------------------------------------------------------Indicated 404.9 32.6 262.0 29.6 666.9 31.4----------------------------------------------------------------------------Measured + Indicated 428.5 32.7 265.0 29.6 693.5 31.5----------------------------------------------------------------------------Inferred 329.2 30.9 192.4 28.7 521.6 30.1----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since the effective date of the preceding MRE, which was disseminated in the March 2012 Preliminary Economic Assessment, eighty-nine (89) additional drill holes totalling 33,000 metres have been completed in the West Area (75 holes) and East Area (14 holes). Ten holes did not have assay results available in time to be integrated into the updated MRE.
P&E utilized a 1:1 $CDN:$US exchange rate, a mining cost of $1.84/Tonne, and a charge of $10.03/Tonne for the total processing, G&A, and freight costs. The process recovery, estimated to be 82%, an Iron ore price of $1.77/dmtu, and a 49 degrees overall pit-slope, were used to complete the Whittle pit optimization and estimate the portion of in-situ Mineral Resource within the pit shell. The economic sensitivity of the resource estimates are demonstrated by comparing the proportion of the mineral resources that may be economically exploited within the optimized pit shell to the categorized resource. Results of the In-Pit Optimization at a 15% FeT cut-off grade are presented in Table 2.
Table 2: In-Pit Optimization Results at 15% Total Iron Cut-Off---------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Area East Area Total ------------------------------------------------------ Tonnes Grade Tonnes Grade Tonnes Grade (millions) FeT% (millions) FeT% (millions) FeT%----------------------------------------------------------------------------Measured 23.5 35.4 3.0 34.2 26.5 35.2----------------------------------------------------------------------------Indicated 403.6 32.6 261.2 29.6 664.8 31.4----------------------------------------------------------------------------Measured + Indicated 427.1 32.7 264.2 29.6 691.3 31.5----------------------------------------------------------------------------Inferred 301.1 31.2 178.7 29.0 479.8 30.4----------------------------------------------------------------------------
