Perth, July 17, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Polaris Metals NL (ASX: POL) today announced its intention to acquire Heron Resources Ltd's iron ore projects in Western Australia with projects in total comprising 50 tenements covering 4,000km2 and two of the projects at an advanced stage.
The Poondano Project in the North Pilbara has a target potential of 5-15Mt of channel iron deposits (CID) only 25km from Port Hedland, where the WA State Government and the Port Authority recently announced plans for a $200 million expansion of public shipping facilities.
The Bungalbin Option Project in the Yilgarn iron ore province is only 50km from Koolyanobbing, and is currently being explored by Portman Ltd under an option agreement.
Managing Director of Polaris Mr Kevin Schultz said today, "the deal offers a significant boost to Polaris' existing iron ore portfolio at Goldsworthy in the North Pilbara and the company's Evanston project in the proven Yilgarn iron ore province, home to Portman's 6Mtpa Koolyanobbing mine."
Subject to shareholder approval, Heron will be issued a total of 29,729,730 Polaris shares at a deemed value of A18.5 cents a share (A$5.5 million) and up to 15 million performance options. Heron's Managing Director, Mr Ian Buchhorn, will join the Polaris Board.
North Pilbara Focus
Immediately on completion of the acquisition Polaris will focus on identifying potentially economic resources within the Poondano-Goldsworthy project areas to be the basis of a pre-feasibility study for a direct shipping iron ore mining operation, exporting through Port Hedland.
"We are targeting a 2.5 Mtpa iron ore business turning over more than A$100 million a year. Having access to the port facilities will be a critical factor in establishing a viable business" said Mr Schultz.
Yilgarn Province Focus
Polaris is also targeting 40-50Mt of direct shipping iron ore (DSO) in its Evanston and Johnston Range project areas to provide the resource base for a 2.5Mtpa iron ore operation lasting up to 20 years. Heron's advanced Bungalbin-Aurora project situated in close proximity offers another 16 DSO targets for Polaris and more than doubles the company's exposure to magnetite target opportunities in the vicinity of its Mayfield deposit, 60km to the west.
Polaris managing director Kevin Schultz justified the plan to acquire Heron's iron ore assets as a being a significant step in the company's growth. "We plan to lift Polaris out of the junior explorer ranks to become a mid tier iron ore producer. With the range of targets available I am now confident this is achievable in a two to three years timeframe" he said.
Contact
Kevin Schultz
Polaris Metals NL
TEL: +61 (0)8 9481 3030 or 0409 108 977
www.polarismetals.com.au
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