Name of the Project
Speewah vanadium/titanium/iron project.

Location
Speewah comprises the Central, Buckman and Red Hill deposits located on the western part of the Northern Australian Craton, in Western Australia.

Client
King River Copper (KRC).

Project Description
The project consists of a laterally extensive magnetite gabbro that hosts vanadium/titanium/iron mineralisation.

The project has measured resources of 322-million tonnes at 0.32% vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅), 2% titanium (Ti) and 14.9% iron (Fe), indicated resources of 1.05-billion tonnes at 0.33% V₂O₅, 2% Ti and 14.9% Fe, and inferred resources of 3.34 billion tonnes at 0.29% V₂O₅, 2% Ti and 14.6% Fe.

A scoping study has highlighted a positive business case for Speewah, with healthy cash-flow margins supporting the progression of the project to the prefeasibility study (PFS) phase.

The scoping study envisages the establishment of the primary processing facilities on the mine site and then transporting the magnetic concentrate to a hydrometallurgical facility, in Wyndham, about 170 km to the north.

Primero has developed a conceptual design for an on-site beneficiation plant comprising:

• primary crushing of run-of-mine (RoM) ore and pebble crushing of semiautogenous grind-ing (SAG) mill discharge oversize (pebbles);
• single-stage SAG milling with classification cyclones targeting product of P80 of 0.5 mm;
• rougher low-intensity magnetic separation/scavenger medium-intensity magnetic separation (MIMS) of mill product;
• regrind of magnetic concentrate to P80 106 μm – 120 μm;
• cleaner/recleaner MIMS producing final concentrate;
• concentrate dewatering and stockpiling; and
• tails dewatering.

A review of processing options has found that the highest extraction and most effective hydrometallurgical approach to recovering iron, titanium and vanadium from the magnetic concentrate is direct atmospheric hydrochloric acid leaching of the concentrate and solvent-extraction of V2O5, Ti, and Fe. The flowsheet comprises:

• initial treatment, that is the acid leach;
• iron recovery, producing either an iron oxide or iron metal;
• titanium recovery, aiming to produce a pigment grade titanium dioxide;
• vanadium recovery producing V₂O₅ flake; and
• acid recovery, regenerating the leach acid for reuse.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The total upfront capital cost to complete the project is currently estimated at between A$2-billion and A$2.5-billion. This estimate is based on preliminary engineering evaluation and scaling from industry benchmarks.

Duration
Based on positive outcomes and approvals, construction of the Speewah project could start in October 2021, with project commissioning potentially under way by November 2022 and full production in July 2023.

Latest Developments
The next stage for the project will be a thorough PFS to assess options and mitigate risks identified for the project. The result of the PFS will be the definition of a chosen operational scenario that has the potential to realise the greatest project value. Upon completion of the PFS, this scenario will be further defined with increased accuracy in a feasibility study. The board will authorise the start of a PFS in early 2019 after current heap-leach analysis has been completed.

KRC intends to make the appointment of a project manager for the PFS a top priority.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
CSA Global (scoping study).

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
KRC, tel +61 8 9221 8055, fax +61 8 9325 8088 or email info@kingrivercopper.com.au.