KALGOORLIE (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore junior BC Iron MD Morgan Ball has told delegates at the Diggers and Dealers conference that the company’s next growth opportunity would likely come from the Pilbara.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Ball noted that despite market perception, the Pilbara still offered significant production opportunities.

“If you are smart, patient and commercial, you can still make money in the Pilbara with iron-ore projects. And that would clearly be a better option for us and our shareholders than spending a bunch of money overseas.”

BC Iron is currently mining iron-ore from its Nullagine joint venture with Fortescue Metals, with the project producing some five-million tonnes of ore during the full 2013.

In May, BC and fellow-listed Cleveland Mining signed two memoranda of understanding to acquire up to 80% shareholding over three separate iron-ore projects in Brazil.

The agreements proposed a staged earn-in process linked to the exploration and development assessment of each stage of the projects and would be conditional on the completion of a long-term option to purchase agreement.

Until the alliance earned an 80% equity, BC and Cleveland would equally co-fund all project expenditure. After this, and once construction and operations started, the alliance and the project vendor would contribute funding in line with their retained equity.

Meanwhile, Ball noted that while BC Iron was currently focused on iron-ore projects, the company was not averse to expanding its product offering in the future.

“I think at this stage, given our size, we will focus on iron-ore. I don’t dismiss [diversifying] in the future, assuming that we will continue to grow the way we have, and when we have a larger base, to look at diversifying our projects. But certainly, the next opportunity will be iron-ore focused.

“It's what we know, and we do it well.”