Radio Hill Iron Project

Overview

The Radio Hill Iron Ore property comprises a 12,000 hectare land package located 85 km southwest of Timmins, Ontario. Unlike many bulk-tonnage iron ore projects, Radio Hill is located in close proximity to infrastructure being transected by a heavy gauge portion of CN Railway's mainline and includes an active rail siding. There is power onsite, water in the immediate vicinity and highway 101 to Timmins is located 8 km to the north, by way of a well-travelled CN Railway service road.

Figure 1. Radio Hill Location Map and Approximate Rail Distances
Figure 1. Radio Hill Location Map and Approximate Rail Distances

On the western side of the property is the 4 km long Radio Hill Iron Formation which hosts the historic resource. The name 'Radio Hill' is a result of the iron formation forming a hill above the surrounding relief, in which a radio tower was located in the 1960s. This hill makes the formation more amenable to open pit mining methods.

An estimated $10 million (2011 dollars) of work was undertaken at Radio Hill between 1959 and 1965 with no iron exploration having occurred since. This work was done on a 2600 meter long section of the formation. This work included 140 diamond drill holes, 3000 tonnes in bulk samples and full metallurgical test work. The result of this work culminated in a reserve and feasibility study.

On the opposite side of the property, near the eastern boundary, is a relatively untested 12 km long geological and geophysical feature known as the Nat River Iron Formation. The Nat River formation has never been explored for its iron potential aside from 6 drill holes conducted in a concentrated area of the structure in 1960. The limited drilling that took place at Nat River did intersect grades as high as 39% acid-soluble iron. The Company's airborne surveys indicate the thickest portions of the formation have not been tested.

Figure 2: Radio Hill Magnetic-VTEM Survey (Geotech Ltd., 2008) and Geological Envelope of Radio Hill Formation (SGS Geostat, 2011)*
Figure 2: Radio Hill Magnetic-VTEM Survey (Geotech Ltd., 2008) and Geological Envelope of Radio Hill Formation (SGS Geostat, 2011)*

In 2011 Rogue initiated the first iron exploration campaign at Radio Hill since 1965. A 10,000 meter drill program started in August and as of January, 2012, 24 holes had been completed.

Objectives of 2011/2012 exploration campaign:

  1. Verify historic work through the twinning 15 holes along the southern portion of the formation;
  2. Test for extensions on the Radio Hill formation where historic drilling was insufficient;
  3. Complete necessary drilling to compile a NI 43-101 compliant resource
  4. Conduct concentration and other metallurgical test work to gain an understanding of the characteristics of the iron formation
  5. Identify targets at Nat River and to the immediate west of historic drilling for further exploration

An airborne VTEM and magnetic survey was conducted on the entire 12,000 hectare property, including Nat River, in 2008 by Geotech Ltd. Both the Radio Hill and Nat River formations are clearly defined by geophysics.