Peregrine Unearths High Grade Iron at Newman

In a move that has taken many by surprise, Peregrine Gold (ASX: PGD) has announced a new high grade iron discovery at its Newman Gold Project in Western Australia. And no, that is not a typo – this gold-focused explorer has now stepped firmly into the iron ore arena, courtesy of a previously unreported channel iron deposit, or CID.

The discovery, dubbed the Coopers CID Prospect, spans 6.4 kilometres with widths of up to 200 metres, and another 1.3 kilometres is inferred from magnetic data. That brings the potential strike length to 7.7 kilometres. Early sampling across the outcrop has delivered an average iron grade of around 57 percent, peaking above 61 percent. For context, many commercial iron ore operations start to look interesting at anything above 55 percent.

Peregrine’s technical director, George Merhi, called it “a virgin high grade Channel Iron Deposit that appears to be of significant scale.” He added that the focus now is to move quickly towards drill testing.

The discovery sits just 2 kilometres from BHP’s Western Ridge Project and 13 kilometres from the massive Mt Whaleback mine. That proximity to existing infrastructure – including roads and rail – will be noted by anyone familiar with the Pilbara’s iron ore economics.

So how did this deposit fly under the radar? According to the company, it is all about the topography. Previous explorers, and even the state’s geological survey, concentrated on mesa-style CIDs to the northeast, while the valley-hosted nature of this system meant it was largely overlooked.

The geology is classic CID – pisolitic ironstone with haematitic cores and goethitic rims, often containing fossilised wood. Assays show low levels of contaminants like silica and phosphorus, which bodes well for future processing.

Perhaps most compelling is the comparison Peregrine draws with CZR Resources’ Robe Mesa Project, recently sold for about $75 million. While Robe Mesa boasts a reserve of 33.4 million tonnes at 55 percent iron, Peregrine’s surface expression already stacks up well in scale, and the grades are notably higher.

Next steps include more mapping, heritage surveys, and preparations for a drilling campaign. Magnetic surveys will also be reviewed to sniff out more potential CID zones across the broader tenement.

Peregrine may still wear a gold explorer’s badge, but this latest find could see it rebranded as an iron contender. One thing is clear – the Pilbara’s red riches have once again proven their ability to surprise.