MOUNTAIN of IRON, and vanadium & gold. The above/right photo was taken of a trench where a grab sample yielded a 2mm visible mottled gold leaf from a sedimentary section in the Clear Hills iron ores.

Clear Hills iron ores foreground to horizon upper-left

HISTORY of the BAD HEART FORMATION

We prospected Clear Hills and Peace River country for many years and Arriba was instrumental in assembling the mineral land package that became Ironstone Resources Ltd. I am an investor and first President of Ironstone. Here are some of the historical facts about the discovery of the Bad Heart Formation and Clear Hills iron ores.

iron boulder sample transport screening in Rambling Creek Worsley Iron Ore Pit Old Ore Hauling Road south of Rambling Creek Van transporting samples

Road to Notikewin Tower,upper ironstone outcrop in Rambling Creek,tower at TUL airstrip,helicopter reconnaissance,
lower unit ironstone,Ross Blusson,Jim Stapleton,Rob Stapleton,Ian Tempany surveying,
Worsley Pit and outcrop,old ore hauling road

TUL Petroleum's (Jim Stapleton) Peace Diamond Project reconned Rambling Creek and Notikewin Hill with R. Blusson of Dentonia in 1998. We mapped some of locations of iron outcrops while testing the stream for heavies, gold and diamonds. The iron beds are 7-9 meters thick.

Ironstone Resources is presently Operator of the Clear Hills Project. At Ironstone, we solved the problems previous companies had drilling the bentonitic swelling clays overlaying the Bad Heart iron. Ironstone carried out a mineral measuring program to prove up as much of the resource-base as possible during the Winter 2008 Drilling Program. This program was successful and results should be on www.ironstoneresources.com website.

Ironstone's coring program proved that the drill programs carried out in the 60s were accurate, although not current as 43-101-standard reports; the iron ores were described reliably.

The Clear Hills iron ore "B" deposit outcrops on Rambling Creek as a 20 foot bank, an exposure near the northeast extent of the iron, being the surface mineable billion-ton body. Here are photos from our 7 years of reconnaissance, sampling and conducting geophysical work in the 90s in the Clear Hills of Alberta north of Grande Prairie.

The Clear Hills and the Bad Heart iron ores have potential for recovery of gold. A reported G10 DIM indicates a probablility that the area harbours a diamond-bearing host. (The angularity of the grain is not known to us.) Two diamonds were recovered to the south at the Worsley outcrop. Recent studies dating the Bad Heart Formation and an evaluation of the ore's Rare Earth Elements resulted in a positive assessment of the 1.24 billion-ton reserve of iron, gold and vanadium.

Cartoon showing report of field trip

Clear Hills

Field Notes - TUL Petroleums Ltd.
Observer: Jim Stapleton

Date: August 20, 1998
900:00, MST clear bright sky, 8 degreesC.
Reconnaissance East Clear Hills
Twp 90-91 Rge 4-5 W6M

Heli traverse to Notikewin Tower
- TUL Petroleums Ltd airstrip
- cached 90 gallons of fuel
Ferry 3 field crew to Rambling Creek
Sample 100 meter intervals 2mm mesh strainer and 5 gal buckets
Section 1-91-5-W6M from: To:
picked locations where heavies accumulate
10 samples from creek over 1000m
RC-100-98 to RC-109-98
sediments screened to buckets & sealed
grey clays south side of creek(bentonite?)
quartzite gravels, Upper Tertiaries?
no volcanics, no visible gold.

sketch map

RC-100-98 fine sediments screened GPS-
RC-101-98 float,oxidized iron boulder GPS-
RC-102-98 bar sediments, panned GPS-
RC-103-98 iron outcrop chip sample GPS-
RC-104-98 seds at base of 103-08 GPS-
RC-105-98 panned seds 100 N of 104 etc.

upper ironstone outcropping in Rambling Creek

sampling and screening sediments below (east of) the old ore pit

CLEAR HILLS IRON ORE DEPOSIT/Bad Heart Formation

Clear Hills Iron Ore Deposit, Peace River Country, Alberta, Canada.

The Clear Hills are uplands that extend from northwest of Grimshaw, Alberta, to the BC border. These rolling hills reach elevations of 3000-3500 ft ASL. The area is remote but accessible by oil industry roads and TUL airstrip on Notikewin Hill. (shown above)

The Clear Hills Iron Ore Deposit is one of the largest iron ore deposits in the world. Clear Hills Iron Ore Deposit occurs in the Bad Heart Formation that dates 85-88 Ma. Table of Geological Formations

History: The history of the Clear Hills Iron Ore Deposit and associated information can be found in files we donated to the Ghallagar Geological Library at the University of Calgary. They have drill logs, aero mag surveys and isopach maps.

Diamonds and rumors of gold in the Peace River Country, and in the Clear Hills around Fairview, were substantiated in the 80s. Also, diamonds in the iron ores. Blocks of iron lands "A" "B" "C" were designated and studied in the 50s and 60s. About 240 core holes were drilled in and around north half Twp 90, Rge 5 W6M near Rambling Creek and in the Worsley area. An ore reserve of 1.24 Billion tons was calculated and later reviewed by a number of geologists and engineering firms.

Assessment: TUL Petroleums Ltd. assessed Metallic and Industrial Minerals Permits on the Clear Hills and at Notikewin Fire Tower (Notikewan Hill 2850 ft. ASL). We sampled Rambling Creek and surveyed parts of Twp 90-91, Rge 4-5 W6M. A literature search and summary report was prepared by TUL Petroleums Ltd. in 1995 and published. (M.J. Kelly & M.J. Stapleton, 1995) See our photos on Google Earth

Outcrops: The Swift Creek deposit (Rambling Creek "B") outcrops on the north flank of the Clear Hills. Rambling Creek flows eastward in the S 1/2 Section 35, Twp 90 Rge 5 and turns north through W 1/2 S36. The original ore test pit is due west of the fire tower, just above the creek on its west side, in LSD 9-2-91-5-6. Anomalous gold values are reported in Boulay et al, 1995, Marum Resources - Iron Cap Gold - AGS publication.

The upper iron outcrops in NW 1, Twp 91, Rge 5 W6M below the barrow pit at an elevation of about 2525 ft. ASL. The ore beds are generally flat laying and dipping about 10 feet per mile southwest. A grey ironstone outcrops in the stream and creates a small cascade at the break between upper and lower formations. About 100 meters north of that location, the lower iron outcrop appears in the creek banks as a more oxidized unit of the Clear Hills Iron Ore Deposit.

The Worsley Pit is more or less 40 miles to the southeast of Rambling Creek "B" on the south flank of the Clear Hills, six miles north-northeast of Worsley on the Rainy Lake Road. (LSD 12-35-87-7 W6M) It consists of 12-20 feet of iron laden sediments that outcrop in an abandoned wellsite on the northeast side of the road. (shown above with Robin standing in the trench)

The Clear Hills iron ore deposit is near the center of the West Peace Diamond Indicator Mineral (DIM) Trend according to our assessment reports filed in 1997 and 1999. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ABSTRACTS/MIN_19980014.html These are available from Alberta Energy, Publications Department and Alberta Geological Survey.

If we knew the source of the iron, we would have a better knowledge of the physical geometry of the resource. It may be a billion tons, it may be 3 or 4 billion tons. Not enough drilling or geophysical exploration has been done to assess the ore bodies and little stratigraphic logging has been completed. The area is a plateau in northern Alberta and is physically remote and wet in summer. Oil industry activity and forestry companies are exploiting the area and it is only a few miles to the Peace River Lowlands where there are towns, farms and ranches, and a railhead is present.

Contact: Jim Stapleton (403) 256-0659 Cell (403) 689-0659

Map Poster & Cross-section

PUBLICATIONS on the CLEAR HILLS IRON ORE DEPOSIT

1954	McDougall. Preliminary Report on the Peace River Iron Ore Deposit by D.B. McDougall http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ABSTRACTS/MIN_19540001.html
1959	Kidd. Iron Occurrences in the Peace River Region, Alberta by Donald Kidd Since 1955 when Premier Steel Mills Limited started operations in Edmonton, interest in the establishment of a basic iron and steel industry in Alberta has increased. This report describes the deposits of one of these raw materials, the iron-rich sandstones in the Clear Hills area of northwestern Alberta. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ABSTRACTS/ESR_1959_03.html
1961	Edgar. Iron Prospecting Permit No. 16, Swift Creek Iron Deposit by Norm Edgar A drilling program was conducted at Peace River Mining and Smelting Ltd.'s Iron ore prospecting permit no. 16 in 1960-1961. 115 holes were drilled on the Swift Creek Iron Ore deposit, 84 of which intersected ore. Reserves are estimated at 200,994,295 tons grading 33.91% iron with an average bed thickness of 21.86 feet or 158,991,777 tons grading 35.44% iron with an average bed thickness of 17.53 feet. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/abstracts/MIN_19610002.html
1961	Edgar. Report on the Clear Hills Iron Deposits of Alberta by N.S.Edgar A drill program was conducted on Peace River Mining and Smelting Ltd. iron ore prospecting permit 17 in 1961. The thickest iron-rich deposits are of Bad Heart age and are present near Worsley and on Swift Creek in the Clear Hills. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/abstracts/MIN_19620001.html
1962	Green & Mellon. Geology of the Chinchaga River and Clear Hills... by R. Green and G. Mellon Ferruginous, oolitic sandstones are locally present in the lower Kaskapau and Bad Heart units in the southern and eastern parts of the area. It is underlain by nearly flat lying rocks of Late Cretaceous age covered by unconsolidated glacial and alluvial deposits of variable thickness. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ABSTRACTS/ESR_1962_08.html
1962	Edgar. Report on the Clear Hills Iron Deposits of Alberta by N.S.Edgar 120 holes were drilled on the south slopes of Clear Hills, several of which intersected ore. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ABSTRACTS/MIN_19620001.html
1962	Samis & Gregory. Reduction of Clear Hills Iron Ore by R-N Process by C.S. Samis & J. Gregory Dr. J.A. Allan established the Research Council as a consequence of geological investigations on iron ore deposits in Alberta during the First World War. The interest and activity of the Research Council in this field has been particularly marked in recent years culminating in its participation in the semi commercial demonstration plant tests on the reduction of Peace River iron ore by the R-N testing process at Birmingham, Alabama. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/abstracts/INF_040.html
1963	Edgar. Report on Iron Prospecting Permit No. 22 by N.S.Edgar 4 holes were drilled in 1963, two of which indicated thickness and extent of iron. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ABSTRACTS/MIN_19630002.html
1964	Edgar. A drill program was conducted on Peace River Mining and Smelting Iron Prospecting Permit No. 20 in 1963. This is the final report by N.S.Edgar. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ABSTRACTS/MIN_19640001.html
1970	CANMET. (Natural Resources Canada Mining and Minerals Services Laboratories) CANMET conducted a thorough investigation of the ore mineralogy. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ROCKCHIPS/winter05_rockchips.pdf
1975	Bertram & Mellon. Peace River Iron Deposits by Ed Bertram and George Mellon The Peace River iron deposits are situated in the Clear Hills district of northern Alberta, about 300 miles northwest of Edmonton. The deposits are close to all-weather roads and lie within 35 to 45 miles of railway facilities at Hines Creek. The deposits consist of flat-lying oolitic sandstone 5 to 30 feet thick, exposed along the southeastern slopes of the Clear Hills. Resources have been estimated at 1, 124 million tons of which 227 million tons are considered 'proved' and 897 million tons are classed as 'probable or 'possible' resources. Large scale direct reduction tests carried out by the R-N Corporation at Birmingham, Alabama, in 1960, resulted in production of metallic briquette grading 90 percent Fe, which is suitable for conversion in an electric furnace. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/abstracts/INF_075.html
1980	Hamilton. Clear Hills Iron Deposit Geology, Mineralogy and Ore Reserves by Wylie Hamilton The Clear Hills iron deposit is an oolitic iron-rich facies of the Bad Heart Sandstone of Late Cretaceous age. It is overlain and underlain by gray marine shales of the upper and lower Smoky Group. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/abstracts/OFR_1982_13.html
1995	Boulay. Report on the Ironcap Gold Property, Peace River by Richard Boulay Two conclusions were reached in the initial stages of exploration. First, that particles of free gold occur in most crushed samples at magnification of 80 power or higher. Second, the distribution and measurement of gold within the Bad Heart formation is subject to a "nugget effect which renders measurement of gold content expensive. It should be noted that the gold occurs as bright yellow particles of native gold in an iron silicate (chamosite) matrix and responds well to normal fire assay procedures. The results of the exploration work performed to date are positive in that they identify the Bad Heart formation as a potential gold host. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/abstracts/MIN_19950002.html
1995	Stapleton & Kelly. Metallic and Industrial Mineral Assessment Report in Support of the Peace Diamond Project and the Iron and Gold Exploration in the Peace River Area by Jim Stapleton and Mike Kelly http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ABSTRACTS/MIN_19950019.html
1999	Olsen et al. Study of Potential Co-Product Trace Elements Within the Clear Hills Iron Deposits... by Reg Olson, Roy Eccles and Chris Collom. The study was undertaken to assess whether elevated concentrations of gold, other precious or base metals, or any other 'trace elements', exist within the Clear Hills iron deposits. If some elements do exist locally in sufficiently high concentrations, then they might be potentially economic "co-products" to assist in the feasibility of developing the iron deposits. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ABSTRACTS/SPE_008.html
2004	Qi Liu et al. Extractive metallurgy of Clear Hills ironstone deposit by Qi Liu, Tom Etsell, Patrick Kerr The Clear Hills region of Peace River, northern Alberta has a vast ironstone deposit with an estimated one billion tones of reserve assaying about 35% Fe, mainly as goethite. The low iron grade, coupled with the complex dissemination of the goethite with the waste rock minerals, makes it difficult to economically extract the iron. This project examines possible metallurgical processes that may be developed to economically utilize the Clear Hills ironstone deposit for iron and steelmaking. http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/cme/nav04.cfm nav04=24097&nav03=23557 &nav02=23293&nav01=23089 bottom of page
2004	Weiss et al. Clear Hills Ironstone and Coal Resources 2004 Digital Compilation and Some Geochemical and Geological Highlights from 2004 Fieldwork by J. Weiss, R.A. Olsen and D.T. Sneddon. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/INF/PDF/INF_133.PDF
2005	AGS. Rock Chips, Alberta Geological Survey Publications 1960 "An extractive metallurgical program is initiated to develop techniques to produce high purity iron powders from iron deposits found in the Clear Hills area of northwest Alberta." 1961 Geological work on the iron deposits of Alberta continued with emphasis on the mineralogy and metallurgy of the Clear Hills iron ore resource. http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ROCKCHIPS/spring05_rockchips.pdf
2005	EUB/AGS. Geo-Note 2005-05 Digital Compilation of Ooidal Ironstone and Coal Data, Clear Hills - Smoky River Region, Northwest Alberta by R.A. Olson, J.A. Weiss and E.J. Alesi http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/GEO/PDF/GEO_2005_05.pdf
2006	Sneddon. Resource Potential of the Clear Hills Iron Deposit, Alberta for GENERAL PROPERTIES LTD. (General Mining Properties Ltd.) by D. Tom Sneddon Sedar.com August 18, 2006 Technical Report
2008	Caplan. Mineral Assessment Report 2008 Clear Hills Project by Barry Caplan From February to March 5, 2008, Ironstone conducted a drill program. The company successfully drilled and recovered 385 metres of unoxidized iron ore from 47 out of 51 holes. A subsequent core-sampling program included taking 500 cm of composite samples for geochemical and whole-rock analysis, in addition to 2 m of "cookie" samples for mineralogical and metallurgical analysis.

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