
The Company owns the Bekisopa iron-ore-deposit
properties (Beki-East and Beki-West) in Madagascar. The
BRGM, Madagascar government and U.N. early data base
reports original Beki-East iron deposit at between 25
per cent and 65 per cent averaging 45 per cent, resource
96. Cline 2007 airborne survey analysis and on-ground
geophysical gravity investigations identifies
substantial additional iron resource potential at Beki-East
and the new Cline Beki-West iron property.
The Beki-East iron ore property
located in south central Madagascar was earlier acquired
by Cline based on data generated by the earlier owner
BRGM of France. Additional work, data, studies and
reports were carried out and generated by the United
Nations and the Government of Madagascar. The data and
reports recorded the elluvial lateritic surface part of
the deposit reported at grades of between 40 per cent
and 65 per cent iron. The results reported include
extractions in the order of 70 per cent by magnetic
separation with an additional flotation unit.
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Tokyo May 29,
2008 Cline Mining Madagascar Mine Project
Meetings
Mr. Andry Ralijaona, General Secretary
MAP, Madagascar.
Mr. S. Yonezawa, President of Mitsui
Matsima Co. Ltd., Japan
Mr. Ken Bates, President of Cline Mining
Corporation, Canada
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The United Nations reports two types
of mineral present, primary and lateritic. The primary
mineralization consists essentially of magnetite as
fine-grained disseminations that develop into layers,
lenses and more concentrated intervals. The lateritic
material consists of magnetite partially converted to
martite and secondary iron minerals. The mineralization
is reported to be of excellent quality with only low to
traces of phosphorus and sulphur. The United Nations
Data indicates that the resource tonnage of the deposit
could approach 150 million tonnes. Following two phases
of study on the property in 1976 and 1977, the resource
tonnage was estimated at 98.6 million tonnes.
The BRGM exploration work reports 564
wells (1,862 metres), 4,000 metres of trenches and 2,581
samples analyzed. The UN-Madagascar work included 897
metres of pits, 59 magnetic profiles as well as
drilling, petrographic studies and analysis. The
Bekisopa iron-ore deposit would be amenable to
extraction by open-pit-mining methods. It appears that
the grade of the mineralization could be easily
upgraded. The UN further concludes that the available
data indicates that the iron deposit is of considerable
economic interest and requires further evaluation.
Tectonically, the iron-bearing units
have been overthrust by the substratum gneise so that on
surface the gneise occurs as scattered remnants from the
overthrust plate. This indicates that the iron formation
should be present at depth.
In 2007 Cline commenced its
exploration program in the area. The objective being to
increase the known Bekisopa iron deposits to world scale
dimension with additional discoveries, if present. The
program commened with a detailed analysis of the
airborne survey flown across an extensive area over and
around the Cline Bekisopa iron ore property. The
airborne analysis work identified extensive iron ore
anomalies over a large area immediately west of the
Bekisopa iron deposit. The airborne data work was
followed up by Cline during the year with an on-ground
geophysical gravity investigation of the airborne iron
anomalies discovered. In addition the geophysical
gravity ground work was extended to the known Cline
Bekisopa magnetite iron deposit to examine the
possibility of the presence of hematite iron, a
non-magnetic iron, in addition to the existing Bekisopa
magnetic deposit (magnetite). The airborne analysis and
ground geophysical work was carried out for the Company
by Dr. Allan Spector of Allan Spector and Associates
Ltd. of Toronto. Dr. Spector carried out 21 detailed
gravity and magnetometer surveys on approximately 60 km
of lines. Dr. Spector is a Qualified Person for the
purposes of Canadian Instrument 43 101.
Cline, based on its exploration work,
acquired the exclusive AERP exploration rights (Autorisation
Exclusive De Reservation De Perimetre Minier) from the
Madagascar Government covering the additional
prospective area of approximately 2,900 square
kilometres to the west and south of the existing
Bekisopa iron deposit. The AERPs were then converted to
full scale Exploration Licenses over the important
anomalous areas.
Four prospective anomalies were
located in the Spector work. Beki 2 and Beki 3 are in
the neighbourhood, parallel to, but separated from the
historic Bekisopa iron deposit (Beki 1).
The Spector Report states that The
results shown (in Figure 5) demonstrate that the
observed gravity features can be attributed to 3 high
density zones, Beki 1, Beki 2 and Beki 3 each having a
density contrast of 1.5gm/cc (iron formation versus
quartzite) and each having a thickness of 50m. The
bodies may be composed of varying blends of magnetite
and non-magnetic hematite. Beki 3 is blind, iron
formation is not evident at surface. The bodies are
structurally controlled by a synformal structure. The
gravity data was used to estimate total mass;
Beki 1 = 575 million tons
Beki 2 = 575 million tons (assuming strike length of
5000m)
Beki 3 = 575 million tons (assuming strike length of
5000m) ........ 1,725 million tons
Adopting the 150m level as the
cut-off for open pit mining, the estimated total mass of
the combined deposits is estimated to be 560 million
tons.
The other geophysical prospects,
zones C and F which lie 20 and 25 km southwest of
Bekisopa, are described
as follows:
2.9 Zone C
The data shown in Figure 4.9 appears to indicate a
prospective iron zone, 3000nT magnetic relief and 1 mgal
gravity anomaly. Thin bedded iron formation is observed
in outcrop.
2.10 Zone F
A very prospective zone is indicated by the data in
Figure 4.10; a 3 mgal gravity anomaly associated with
4500 nT relief. The geophysical features are strikingly
similar to that observed over Bekisopa, i.e. a synformal
structure.
Click here for
the summary and recommendations of the Spector Report.
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