Century Iron Mines building strength on the Labrador Trough

The amount of iron ore in the Labrador Trough appears endless as Century Iron Mines (FER-T) is the latest company to yield significant drill results from the world renowned geological structure.

Century released its second batch of assay results from the Attikamagen project, which sits 20-km northwest of Schefferville, Quebec, and the results are promising indeed.

Drilling focused on two area’s of the property: Joyce Lake and Hayot Lake.

At Joyce Lake the highlight hole returned 127 metres grading 50.65% total iron (FeT), including 33 metres grading 61.15% FeT.

At Hayot Lake the highlight hole intercepted 149.3 metres grading 33.15% FeT.

The iron ore at Joyce Lake is enriched, which has the company believing that it could well be a direct shipping ore (DSO) deposit. DSO deposits benefit from not having to have their ore milled; saving a company large on capex and operating costs.

In contrast to the enriched iron ore at Joyce, Hayot Lake is a taconite deposit, meaning it contains high grades of silica.

Century says drilling at the two zones is finished for the year and that a third batch of assay results are expected shortly.

All told, the company drilled 10,884 metres of diamond and reverse circulation drilling from April 8 to October 30.

The next phase of drilling is set to get underway in February of next year with a primary focus on Joyce Lake.

The Attikamagen property covers roughly 345 sq km. and straddles the Quebec and Labrador border, with Hayot Lake sitting on the Quebec side and the Joyce Lake sitting on the Labrador side.

Century has an option to acquire a 60% stake in the project from Champion Minerals (CHM-T). By spending $7.5 million on exploration by March of next year Century will earn a 51% stake. It moves up to 60% by make successive payments that total $5.5 million by Mach of 2014.

As of Sept. 30 the company was well financed with roughly $90 million in cash and cash equivalents.

At the end of November, Century announced it had finalized its joint venture with WISCO International Resources, a unit of Wuhan Iron & Steel, China’s third-largest steel producer.

The agreement calls for WISCO to invest $120 million in the project in exchange for a 40% stake in Century’s Duncan Lake, Attikamagen and Sunny Lake projects in Quebec.

Another Chinese mining firm, MinMetals, also has a stake in Century, as it has a 5% interest in the company and has signed off-take agreements on future iron production.

In Toronto on Dec. 9 the company’s shares were of 4% or 8¢ to $2.00 on 900,000 shares traded.