Alien Metals Ltd (LSE:UFO) has started preparations for a phase 3 drilling programme at the Hancock iron ore project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The Phase 3 programme should be completed during the fourth quarter of this year, it added, and is designed to delineate a maiden resource estimate at the Western Ridges Prospect.
Final laboratory assay results from the second phase of drilling have also now been received, said the statement, with significant widths of direct shipping ore (DSO) from surface already defined at the Sirius Extension Prospect and the Western Ridges Prospect.
The second phase of drilling was designed to in-fill the maiden drilling at the Sirius Extension Project and further test the initial extent and true location of the DSO grade iron ore in the Western Ridges Prospect.
“We are now confident that the current drill spacing is sufficient to enable the delineation of a maiden JORC resource to be calculated for the Sirius Extension Prospect.,” Alien said today.
Alien Metals added that the Western Ridges Prospect is shaping up to be a second standalone mineable resource.
Bill Brodie Good, Alien Metals' chief executive and technical director, said: "At each new step the Hancock tenement is shaping up to be a significant development opportunity for Alien.
“We have now defined a robust DSO grade iron ore orebody at the Sirius Extension Prospect, and are pushing ahead with detailed development and study work to bring this project online as soon as is practical.
"We also believe that the Western Ridges Prospect provides a significant opportunity to open a second front on the potential development schedule within this outstanding tenement."
John Battista, Principal Mining Consultant, Mining Plus, added: “ "Based on our conceptual study-level work to date, the Hancock project has the potential to be developed into a niche direct-shipping iron ore producer in the heart of the world-famous Pilbara region of Western Australia."