Fenix Resources (ASX:FEX) has secured two tenements in Western Australia’s Weld Range, including the Beebynganna Hills Iron Ore Project and an exploration tenement.
Fenix, which has a market capitalisation of $190.96 million, says the new near-mine exploration assets expand the company’s strategic holding in the region and provide additional opportunities to uncover high-grade satellite iron ore deposits.
At Beebynganna Hills, which was purchased from Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR), historical exploration by Giralia Resources (ASX:GIR) shows multiple zones of high-grade hematite iron mineralisation, with samples grading up to 65% iron.
Under the agreement with Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR), Fenix will pay $250,000 cash and a milestone payment of $1 million upon extracting and selling 1 million tonnes of iron ore from Beebynganna Hills.
Meanwhile, at the exploration tenement — known as Beebyn North — historical results returned iron ore grades up to 63% iron, which Fenix says underscores the potential for high-grade mineralisation. The tenement sits 14km north-east of the company’s Beebyn-W11 deposit, but remains subject to grant.
More broadly, Fenix has begun a regional evaluation of historical exploration work on the expanded exploration portfolio. This work has been designed to validate and map potential hematite targets across the Weld Range portfolio ahead of a drilling program next year.
Executive Chairman John Welborn says Fenix has shown the value that can be unlocked from the iron ore deposits in the Weld Range.
“Since 2020, we have mined more than 6 million tonnes of high-quality iron ore products from our Iron Ridge Iron Ore Mine, generating more than $800 million in revenues,” Welborn says.
“Historic exploration activity in the Weld Range has identified numerous high-quality iron ore deposits and the expansion of Fenix’s regional footprint is a priority to support our plans to continue to grow production volumes.”
Welborn adds that the company is preparing to begin mining at the Beebyn-W11 deposit.
“In 2025, we expect to increase annualised production from 1.3 million tonnes to 4 million tonnes and have confidence our excellent regional infrastructure has significant capacity to support further growth,” he says.
The Weld Range extends over 60km and has a width of between 3km and 5km. Iron ore was first discovered in the range during the late 19th century and modern exploration has defined high-quality hematite ore bodies at Beebyn, Madoonga, and Iron Ridge.
Fenix Resources is a fully integrated mining, logistics, and port services business with assets in the Midwest region of Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Fenix Resources
