On February 17, African Minerals Limited (African Minerals), a mineral exploration and development company with significant iron ore and base metal interests in Sierra Leone, West Africa, announced that the total JORC (Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee) compliant iron ore mineral resource at Tonkolili in Sierra Leone's Northern Province has increased to 10.5 billion metric tons - the world's largest reported JORC compliant magnetite iron ore mineral resource.
According to the company's statement, the figure in question exceeds the company's target mineral resource of 10 billion metric tons for the current phase of resource development. Included within the 10.5 billion metric tons are 9.7 billion metric tons at an average grade of 30.1 percent Fe in situ.
A tonnage scale pilot plant test carried out by Australian Metal and Mineral Testing Consultants (AMMTEC) has confirmed that the Tonkolili magnetite is upgradable to a very high grade iron ore of 70.3 percent Fe.
Fund raising totaling £80 million has been completed for the first phase of the hematite development and production project. The company expects the definitive feasibility study to be completed by the second quarter of 2010 and it aims to start commercial production of the first phase of hematite iron ore in the first quarter of 2011.