Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Ltd has announced the results of an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on its Houston Project prepared by Roscoe Postle Associates Inc (RPA), now part of SLR Consulting Ltd. The Houston Project is owned 100% by Labrador Iron Mines Limited (LIM) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Schefferville Mines Inc (SMI). LIMH owns 52% of LIM.
The Houston Project consists of the Houston 1, Houston 2 and Houston 3 deposits located in Labrador and the adjacent Malcolm deposit located just over the provincial border in Quebec. The Houston 1 and Houston 2 deposits have been permitted and are considered ready for construction. The Houston 3 deposit and Malcolm deposit are planned to come on stream in the second half of the 12-year projected mine life, following permitting. The Houston Project is planned as an initial 12-year mine life with production of 2 million dry metric tonnes (dmt) of direct shipping iron ore (DSO) per year for a total production of 23.4 Mdmt of product at 62.2% Fe over the life of the mine.
This production profile is based on an updated, current NI 43-101 Mineral Resource estimate of 20.5 Mt (62.7% Fe) in the Measured and Indicated categories and 14.3 Mt (59.4% Fe) in the Inferred category. Planned production for the Houston 1 and 2 deposits is based primarily on Measured and Indicated resources. “Subject to further drilling and analysis, excellent additional exploration potential exists along strike and between the Houston and Malcolm deposit, which could possibly expand the project’s resource base and extend the mine life.”
Mining is planned year-round at approximately 5,500 t/d mineralised material while train loading is planned between May and November at approximately 10,000 t/d. Dilution of 5% at grade, a 100% process mass-yield and a low strip ratio of 2.2 waste to mineralized material are expected. Operations will involve conventional open pit truck and shovel activities and simple dry crushing and screening for processing.
Mine development consists mainly of construction of an 8 km gravel road and a 2 km rail siding and installation of site infrastructure including dry crushing and screening facilities and water management equipment. The required major mining equipment will be leased and an existing locally owned accommodation camp will be rented. Site operations will rely on diesel power with fuel sourced from a local distributor. The project is expected to employ 297 people in total at its peak, with about 20% of the labour force sourced from local communities.
