The Iron Bear project in Canada has completed its pilot pellet production run, owner and operator Cyclone Metals( ASX:CLE) said on Thursday (October 10).
“We have successfully produced Direct Reduction (DR) Pellets. This is a major milestone for the Iron Bear project. Our DR pellets demonstrated excellent physical and metallisation properties,” CEO Paul Berend said in a press release.
The project returned direct reduction pellets grading 67.5 percent iron, 1.6 percent silica, 0.12 percent magnesium oxide, 0.65 percent calcium oxide and ultra-low deleterious elements.
Cyclone added that the pellets have world-class reduction and metallisation properties and that they hold excellent physical properties, with cold crushing strengths of 438 to 486 kilograms per pellet.
The company is now starting small-scale industrial production, with shipping of bulk concentrate samples to potential take-off clients scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.
It has already collected run of mine sediment, which is set to be processed in the Iron Bear pilot plant at the COREM research institute in Québec City. The metallurgical testwork was performed by COREM and completed in August.
The company also intends to produce Iron Bear DR concentrate grading 71 percent iron and 1.1 percent silica, along with more DR pellets and blast furnace (BF) acid pellets.
Formerly known as the Block 103 project, the Iron Bear project has a mineral resource of 16.6 billion tonnes grading 29.3 percent iron.
It is located in the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is near infrastructure, less than 25 kilometers from an open-access heavy haul railway connected to the Sept Isles and Pointe Noire iron ore export ports.
The project is also 75 kilometres away from the Menihek hydroplant, potentially giving it access to cheap renewable energy.
Major iron ore export operations currently operate in the Labrador Trough and share the same rail and port infrastructure with Iron Bear.
Cyclone said it will now focus on enhancing the chemical composition of its DR pellets. The company will also launch engineering studies that will address potential risks associated with power and rail infrastructure and explore the viability of its direct shipping ore and magnetite outcrops.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Read More: Cyclone Reports “World Class” Pellets from Pilot Pellet Run