Padbury Mining readies to drill DSO hematite targets at Mt Padbury

Padbury Mining (ASX: PDY) is set to ramp up exploration at the Peak Hill Iron Project joint venture in the mid-west region of Western Australia, after receiving the necessary Government approvals.

The Department of Mines and Petroleum has approved the Program of Works, conditional on avoiding impact on individual species of conservation value required by the Department of Environment and Conservation.

The new drilling will focus on Mt Padbury in a maiden campaign, and providing a boost to the prospectivity of the area geological mapping had delineated iron ore targets with potentially significant platy hematite-goethite mineralisation.

Another plus is grades of up to 63.2% iron have been achieved from surface rock chip samples, supporting the case for direct shipping ore mineralisation.

Operations are forecast to kick off later in the month.

Padbury has a 70% stake in Peak Hill, with Aurium Resources (ASX: AGU) 30%.


Mt Padbury subsurface testing
The Mt Padbury drilling is the follow up subsurface testing of potential hematite mineralisation identified in exploration mapping carried out earlier in 2011.

These operations will be integrated within the ongoing evaluation drilling of the magnetite and hematite potential nearby at Peak Hill's Telecom Hill prospect.

Gary Stokes, managing director, commented, “This combined program is the largest undertaken by Padbury and is part of a focused strategy to build the Peak Hill Iron Project base by expanding and upgrading the existing magnetite resource and identifying potential DSO sources, which could lead to early cashflow.”

Peak Hill currently hosts an Inferred JORC Resource of 850 million tonnes at 27.3% iron, which was defined from less than a half of the 10 kilometre strike length - indicating a strong chance of a resource upgrade in the near future.

Originally published at: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/21665/padbury-mining-readies-to-drill-dso-hematite-targets-at-mt-padbury--21665.html