Resource World Magazine

MINI NG Canadian Orebodies discovery in Nunavut may be the tip of the iceberg Iron ore can be considered the ���basest��� of the base metals. Perhaps more so than for any other hard rock deposit, bulk tonnage is the key consideration. Grade is always an important factor; however the most successful iron ore mines in the world today are defined by access to huge deposits that can be mined for decades using lost cost extraction. The equation can be simply described: strip it and ship it. It has been estimated that a new iron ore discovery must amount to a magnitude of at least one billion tonnes to be considered a legitimate development candidate. The management team at Canadian Orebodies Inc. [CO-TSXV] understands this reality. Canadian Orebodies is an exploration company seeking to define such a deposit with sufficient grade and favorable geometry to attract a developer and is active in an emerging discovery district. Their flagship prospect is located in the near north of Nunavut. Numerous targets have been identified at the Belcher Islands, on Hudson���s Bay off the coast of Qu��bec. Attractive iron ore showings were revealed in the area back in the 1950s when it was tested with preliminary exploration work. During this time most of the big steel producers in North America were operating iron ore mines in Canada and the US to source raw materials. However, low cost, foreign iron ore began displacing domestic production. Steel mills could buy iron pellets from offshore mines for less than it could be produced closer to home. And so the project was abandoned. Recently, the balance is beginning to shift back to favorable economics for domestic production. The Labrador Trough in Qu��bec hosts a number of active mines and exploration targets for iron ore. High capital expenditures and remote access requiring expensive rail infrastructure are two major barriers that have restrained development in this rich deposit area. Canadian Orebodies��� property holdings on the Belcher Islands have some challenges, but the area also offers some competitive advantages including; a favorable working relationship with the local Inuit community, nearby access to deep water providing a logistical cost advantage for shipping, and a number of widespread drill core samples with attractive grades, collected from the targets. This is encouraging evidence that a very large deposit area may exist. In addition the company has completed magnetic surveying which suggests that there is a possibility of a new iron ore district within this group of islands. Remember, the first three commandments of iron ore development are tonnage, tonnage, and tonnage. Proving up a large deposit area is an expensive proposition and the logistical realities of operating in the north add another layer of cost. However, the glass is half full for Canadian Orebodies; the company has about $2 million in cash in the treasury, which 44 www.resourceworld.com by Mike Kachanovsky The 2012 drill program on Haig West, Belcher Islands, Nunavut. Photo courtesy of Canadian Orebodies. will keep the program funded through the summer months. Considering that many of the exploration juniors today are literally running on fumes it is some measure of added security that the company will not have to be going to market for funding with any immediate sense of urgency. So far the company has drilled a series of widely spaced holes to test near surface targets identified in magnetic surveys. Some of these holes are separated by as much as two kilometres but the results continue to be reported with zones of 15 metres or more in thickness, and grades in the range of 35% iron ore throughout this high priority, target area. If the similar continuity can be observed as a more closely spaced infill drilling program kicks off, Canadian Orebodies may indeed be on the way to defining something special on the Belcher Islands. The company recently acquired further land holdings and has expanded the scope of its efforts. The growing land package now represents nearly 40,000 hectares, including the new Haig North target extending for more than 8 kilometres across the project area controlled by Canadian Orebodies So far a compliant resource has been reported for the project of more than 500 million tonnes with a grade in the range of 35% iron ore. This compares very favorably with the projects advancing to development in the nearby Labrador Trough. However, Canadian Orebodies expects that the total deposit area will grow rapidly and could eventually become a new iron ore district in Canada. n MARCH 2013

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