Legacy Iron Ore finds outcropping manganese mineralisation in the Pilbara

Legacy Iron Ore (ASX: LCY) has added manganese to its bow with the discovery of significant outcropping manganese mineralisation at its Pilbara manganese project in Western Australia.

The discovery was made from a program of field reconnaissance, including mapping and rock chip sampling at the Robertson Range manganese project owned by Legacy.

The 370 square kilometre project area lies 90 kilometres east of Newman. 

A total of 7 rock chip samples were taken over the hill and assayed by XRF by SGS Laboratory, Perth.
The samples assayed in the range 10.6 – 33.3% manganese (average 21.8%).
The most significant part of the discovery is the significant manganese mineralisation found at the Black Hill prospect – a low hill covering an area of approximately 300 metres x 100 metres.
There is extensive outcrop of the Balfour Formation shales that show strongly developed manganese mineralisation.
Further mapping and sampling is planned together with an IP geophysical survey. Grid RC drilling and drilling of IP conductors would follow as soon as possible.

Legacy chief executive officer, Sharon Heng said the discovery of significant but undrilled manganese mineralisation points to the potential of our large underexplored project area.

“This is one of several projects that will be aggressively explored with funding from the recently announced agreement with NDMC – India’s National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd.”
The proposed agreement with NMDC is subject to necessary shareholder and regulatory approvals in both Australia and India.

Significantly, the tenement is located immediately south of the Nicholas Downs 20 million tonne manganese mine which is being developed by a joint venture comprising Hancock Prospecting and PMI (Mineral Resources Ltd).

There, mining has recently commenced of this high grade manganese orebody with targeted production of 600,000 tonnes per annum of 38% manganese ore.

Previous work at the tenement had shown that most of the tenement is underlain by Balfour Formation manganiferous shales, masked in part by surprisingly thin alluvial cover.

The shales are host rocks to the major Nicholas Downs manganese mine located some 25km along strike to the NNE.

Very little exploration is recorded on the tenement – a consequence of masking thin alluvial deposits, and a historic exploration model relying on weathering and supergene enrichment to produce viable manganese deposits on topographic highs.

Recent work, e.g. at the major Woodie Woodie mine to the north, has shown that manganese mineralisation has resulted from hydrothermal fluids moving upwards and precipitating along fault and fracture systems.

Originally published at: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/20455/legacy-iron-ore-finds-outcropping-manganese-mineralisation-in-the-pilbara-20455.html