Century Iron updates on 2012 activities, plans PEA for Duncan Lake project in 2013

Century Iron Mines Corporation (TSE:FER) Monday provided a summary of its exploration program and mineral resource estimates in 2012.

The miner is one of the largest iron ore companies in Canada, in terms of number of claims by area. It has 6,493 claims and titles, covering some 198,779 hectares in the provinces of Québec and Newfoundland & Labrador. 

Century has interests in four iron ore projects in Canada. The Duncan Lake project is located in western Québec, while three others, Sunny Lake, Attikamagen, and the Altius Properties, are located in the Labrador Trough region of Québec and Newfoundland & Labrador. 

In 2012, the company completed 74 drill holes totaling 7,807 metres at the Joyce Lake direct shipping ore (DSO) deposit, which forms part of the Attikamagen project. It also collected 30 tonnes of bulk samples for metallurgical testing.

At the Rainy Lake iron deposit, part of the Sunny Lake project, 117 holes totaling 24,555 metres were drilled and 11 tonnes of bulk samples were collected for metallurgical testing

At its Duncan Lake property, the company completed phase II drilling and released an updated NI 43-101 technical report in 2012. Century said it intends to use the drilling results for a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) currently planned for the Duncan Lake project in 2013.

Last year, the company announced NI 43-101 compliant initial mineral resource estimates on its Hayot Lake and Rainy Lake projects, and announced an updated mineral resource estimate for its Duncan Lake project.

The Hayot Lake iron deposit in Quebec, which forms part of the Attikamagen project, has a resource of over 1.7 million tonnes, grading 31.25 per cent iron, for 538,438 tonnes of contained iron in the inferred category – using a 20-per-cent iron cutoff.

Using the same cutoff, Rainy Lake has a resource of over 7.2 million tonnes of ore, grading 30.18 per cent iron, for 2.19 million tonnes of contained iron in  the indicated category; and over 8 million tonnes, grading 29.86 per cent iron for 2.59 million tonnes of contained iron in the inferred category.

Meanwhile, the Duncan Lake project, using a 16-per-cent iron cutoff, has a resource of 1.05 million tonnes, grading about 24 per cent iron, for 256,349 tonnes of contained ore in the measured and indicated category; and 563,000 tonnes, grading 24.7 per cent iron, for 139,061 tonnes of contained iron in the inferred category.

Century has two blue-chip Chinese investors in WISCO (Wuhan Iron & Steel Company) and MinMetals, with the deep pockets required to unlock the potential of the company’s assets.

WISCO is the fourth-largest steel producer in China, controlling 3 billion tonnes of overseas iron ore resources. 

Earlier this month, eResearch gave the iron ore explorer a "speculative buy" rating, saying that more drilling, resource estimates and some feasibility studies "should all increase investor focus" on the company's share price potential. 

Century Iron's share price has, over the past 12 months, fallen from a high of $2.35 at the end of February to the current 55 cents. 

eResearch analyst Bob Weir noted that the price of iron ore began to decline in 2011 and bottomed last September at US$86.70 per tonne. It has since risen sharply, reaching $155 per tonne last month. 

Weir also said that the outlook for steel demand in China has improved recently, which should keep iron ore consumption at higher levels, resulting in the recovery of iron ore stocks.