Century Iron Mines drills 139m of 52.8% iron at Attikamagen

Century Iron Mines (CVE:FER) announced Wednesday encouraging initial drill results from its 2011 drill program at the Attikamagen iron ore project near Schefferville, Quebec, currently under option from Champion Minerals (TSE:CHM).
The 2011 winter drilling program was focused on several potential taconite and direct shipping ore (DSO) targets near Hayot Lake and Joyce Lake, where over 2,000 metres of combined diamond and reverse circulation drilling was completed.
Taconite is a variety of iron formation, an iron-bearing sedimentary rock, while direct shipping ore refers to iron ore that can be shipped directly to a steel furnace.
The company said that reverse circulation drilling at Joyce Lake found a potential DSO target, with hole JOY-11-06 intersecting 139 metres grading 52.8% total iron, while hole JOY-11-07 returned 91.0 metres of 52.5% total iron, including 42.0 metres of 65.3% iron.
Meanwhile, at Hayot Lake, diamond drilling coincided with results from last year, which found a taconite iron prospect. Hole HAY-11-10 intersected 108.2 metres grading 33.2% total iron, and previously, hole HAY-10-06, returned 92.6 metres of 31.6% iron in 2010.
"We are very encouraged by the drilling results at Joyce Lake for its DSO potential, and at Hayot Lake for its taconite potential," said president and CEO of Century Iron, Sandy Chim.
"The initial assay results from the 2011 Attikamagen drilling program shows that the Joyce Lake iron formation has the potential to become a DSO deposit.
"These results validate the company's current direction of its exploration programs on the taconite and DSO potential in Canada."
The Attikamagen property is an early-stage project comprised of approximately 946 mining claims, covering about 31,000 hectares in an area of major iron formation. The property has thin overburden, with visible outcrops with preliminary drilling showing the thickness of iron formation to be greater than 100 metres. There are five deposits on a 60 kilometre strike length.
Century Iron said it is continuing with the current phase of drilling at the project, expected to be completed by year-end. The objective of the 2011 drilling program is to determine the lateral continuity of the iron mineralization as a means to assess the overall size and grade potential of the property.
In 2008, Century Iron originally entered into an option agreement with Champion Minerals, which allows Century the right to earn up to a 60% interest in Attikamagen by funding exploration expenses.
The Toronto-based emerging iron ore explorer also has interests in two other projects, including Duncan Lake, and Sunny Lake, both in Quebec. Both WISCO and MinMetals (HKG:1208), which are ranked among the Forbes Global 500 and are two of China’s largest mining companies, have substantial stakes in Century Iron.
Through these partnerships, the company  has secured a place in perhaps the world’s most important iron ore market.