PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mineral sands developer Sheffield Resources on Monday announced that its subsidiary Kimberley Mineral Sands (KMS) had secured a $110-million production-linked facility with Orion Mineral Royalty Fund.

In conjunction with the A$160-million debt financing package from the North Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), the Orion facility completed the project financing requirements for the Thunderbird mineral sands project.

“We’re delighted to have Orion supporting Thunderbird through this significant financing package and we look forward to achieving financial close of the NAIF and Orion loan facilities in early in the fourth quarter of 2022 and achieving a final investment decision for Thunderbird.

"With construction activities now over 40% complete, we remain on track for first production in the first quarter of 2024,” said Sheffield executive chairperson Bruce Griffin.

Sheffield said on Monday that the project timetable, project economics and total funding requirement, including an additional A$36-million of equity from Sheffield to bring Thunderbird into production, would not materially differ from the March bankable feasibility study, which estimated that the project would require a capital investment of A$361-million for the Stage-1 operation.

The two stage Thunderbird development pathway sees the initial Stage 1 mining and processing feed rate forecast at 1 085 t/h at the wet concentrate plant (WCP), with Stage 2 doubling the WCP feed rate to 2 170 t/h targeted during Year 5 of operations.

Stage 1 and 2 of operations is estimated to produce 1.4-million tonne a year of zircon and ilmenite concentrates over an estimated 36 year life of mine.

Meanwhile, Sheffield also announced the award of a nine-year mining services contract at Thunderbird, to Piacentini & Son.

“The award of the mining services contract to mining services operator Piacentini & Son is one of the final remaining commercial steps to completing the project financing arrangements for Thunderbird and we look forward to KMS and Piacentini establishing a long and successful partnership as we bring the world class Thunderbird mineral sands Project into production in the near future,” said Griffin.