Mineworx plans to obtain an exploration permit to commence a work program to confirm the historic 25 – 30 million ton mineralization in accordance with a National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate, outlined by the previous 38,000 metres of drilling on the property.

During 2015, a 1,212-line-kilometre helicopter-borne magnetic survey was completed which provided an excellent resolution of near-surface magnetic sources, representing a major improvement over prior regional aeromagnetic surveys. Most of the magnetic sources detailed on the aeromagnetic survey are judged to be quite shallow, representing near-surface mineralization.

2021 Validation Program

  • Step 1 – Regional Reconnaissance
    • Reconnaissance exploration to identify unexplored anomalies
    • 15 – 18 RC drill holes totaling 2,200 meters
    • Depth: 120 to 150 meters
  • Step 2 – Exploration of Deposits (Coloso, Soledad, Villamejor)
    • 2 RC drill holes on each side of the three deposits along strike, 100 meters per hole
    • Potential to increase existing 25 to 30 Mt estimated magnetite mineralization
  • Step 3 – Validation of Deposits
    • 4 diamond drill holes per deposit to validate the historical drilling and recovery data
    • 100 metres per hole

The Company anticipates completion of the Validation Program by Q2 – 2021

Historical production and exploration data

  • Mineworx’s 100% owned Cehegín Iron Ore Project, located in South-Eastern Spain was operated by the Spanish ironworks company Altos Hornos de Vizcaya (AHV)
  • Between 1975 and 1989, AHV completed a significant amount of exploration and exploitation on four of the 62 concessions at Cehegín: in excess of 4 Mt of ore was mined and processed and some 38,000 m of drilling was completed

Infrastructure 

  • Access to the deposit is via a network of paved toll-free highways; the project is located only 6 km north of the main Murcia to Cehegín toll-free highway and 115 km to the deep-sea Port of Cartagena.
  • ENFE, the local rail company, has a spur 12 km from the project in the town of Calasparra. The port of Cartagena is 142 km by rail. The rail system provides access throughout Europe, allowing wide distribution of the iron ore concentrate

Regional support 

  • The Region of Murcia has been very supportive of the project in all aspects, including environmental issues
  • The region has placed a high priority on job creation, classifying the Cehegín project as a strategic initiative. This allows it to fall into a special regulatory framework that reduces the period of all the regulatory terms  by half
  •  In addition, it grants special tax reductions which could see to 30% of net profits tax-exempt up to ten years

European iron ore demand

  • The EU is the 2nd largest import market for Iron Ore behind China and slightly ahead of Japan.
  • The European Steel industry remains extremely dependent on imports. It imports approximately 135 million metric tons of Iron Ore annually. The main consumers are Germany, Italy, France, and the UK

Exploration Upside

The Cehegín Magnetite Project is supported by some 38,000 meters of historical drilling data that could be validated by a limited drilling and metallurgical test work program to commence in 2018.

The historical data and consideration of a reasonable possible extension of the deposits provide an indication of the available quantity for mineralization.

The mineral potential is estimated between 9 Mt and 42 Mt of magnetite mineralization.

The volume of Magnetite Mineralization realized could reasonably be expected to be in the range of 25 Mt to 30 Mt.  

The potential quantity and grade are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource. It is uncertain whether further exploration will result in the target zones being delineated as a mineral resource.

The Cehegín Iron Ore Project

The Cehegín Iron Ore Project was previously mined for over 4 million tonnes between 1975 and 1989 by the previous operator Altos Hornos de Vizcaya and produced a premium quality iron ore concentrate for its own internal use for their steel mills in northern Spain.

Iberian Minerals

Iberian Minerals has access to historical drilling of 1,243 drill holes totaling 37,875 metres, land, and aerial magnetic surveys, plus production records.

The latest historical resource estimates were presented by Aurelio in the 1990 feasibility study for the Cehegín mines using the historical AHV data. The Aurelio study indicates that the total reserves for three of the sixty-two concessions investigated are in the order of 7.4 million tonnes. The historical estimates were generated using the sectional polygon method and were not categorized using the mineral resource categories described by the CIM Standards.

Previous Iron-Ore Production

Historically, the grade of iron ore concentrate produced at Cehegín was in excess of the standard 62% iron based on production up to 1985.

Previous Operators

The previous operators – Altos Hornos de Vizcaya S.A. report of 1982 states that during the quarter of 1975 and throughout 1976, the operation produced magnetite concentrate with an average grade of 65.15% with low penalizing impurities.

Opportunity

If the same quality concentrates can be produced, this will attract a premium price and wider markets.