Summary
- FMG has defined a high grade Iron Ore Mineral Resource of 28Mt @58.8% Fe over a neighbouring tenement that abuts Alien’s tenement
- FMG has historically drilled up to the Vivash tenement boundary returning high grade results such as 70m @ 60.5% Fe
- Programme of Work (POW) for drilling of up to 150 RC holes been granted which allows Alien immediate access
Previous Exploration
Previous exploration work undertaken by Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) between 2018 and 2020 included geological mapping followed by limited drilling of targets in the north and south of the tenement through an exploration and option agreement with Zenith. The Company estimates, following a review of the available data, that the areas drilled were of a lower priority than the central east west trending untested zone over which the current POW is granted.
RIO completed 9 RC drill holes in the north eastern area and 4 RC holes in the south eastern corner, with the best intersection returning 8m @ 53.8% Fe from surface (Source: Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Limited ANNUAL REPORT, For the Period 5 October 2019 to 4 October 2020 Mineral Exploration Annual Report for Vivash Gorge E47/3071).
Zenith carried out a limited rock chip sampling programme in the tenement’s south eastern area, which returned a high of 55.4% Fe. Detailed geological mapping has been completed by previous explorers, providing Alien with good base geological maps to build on. No work has been conducted on the central area of the tenement, which will be the focus of Alien’s exploration once the company has all the necessary permissions granted.
The limited exploration by RIO and Zenith showed the presence of 55% iron ore within the tenement to date. Arguably more significantly, FMG on the eastern boundary has defined a JORC resource of 28Mt @ 58.8% Fe. Of interest to Alien is FMG’s hole VV0111, which returned 70m @ 60.5% Fe (see figure below left) from the surface, which was drilled only 60m east of the Vivash Gorge tenement boundary.
The existing POW granted to Zenith in October 2021 (valid for four years from the date of grant) covers the area of the tenement where the Brockman Iron Formation is situated and allows for 150 RC drill holes of a maximum of 200m per hole to be drilled within its outline (see figure below centre) providing a
significant area for the Company to be able to work with initially.
FMG’s DSO grade resource at Vivash Gorge SW appears likely to continue into the Vivash Gorge tenement (see figure below right). As a result Alien believes that the area has the potential to host high grade iron ore.
There is good existing track access to the central eastern area due to the historic drilling by RIO. The granted POW allows for up to 70km of additional tracks to be made across the initial area of interest for the Company.
