The West Australian reported that Flinders Mines has again upgraded the resource of its flagship Pilbara iron ore project after an upgrade of the mineral resource of its Ajax deposit.

The company said infill drilling at Ajax had lifted its mineral resource estimate for the deposit to 70 million tonne 55.7% iron, using a plus-50% iron cutoff, with about 38% in the indicated category.

This in turn had lifted the total mineral resource at the Pilbara iron ore project from 1.04 billion tonne last month to 1.042 billion tonne at 55.6% iron with 86% in the indicated or measured categories.

The company said in a statement that "Flinders now has a greater degree of confidence in the mineral resource model that forms the basis for detailed mine planning and optimisation studies currently underway as part of the ongoing bankable feasibility study."

Flinders expects to complete the study by the end of June.

The company is planning a 25 million tonne per annum iron ore operation near Tom Price, possibly linked to a proposed rail, conveyer and port project being backed by Rutila Resources and New Zealand's Todd Corporation.

Flinders has pushed ahead with the development of its Pilbara project, announcing a USD 6.7 million capital raising in November despite a sagging iron ore price.