PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Furthering its agenda of maintaining focus on its key resource pillars, mining giant BHP Billiton has divested of its 10.4% shareholding in Australian junior Heron Resources.
Heron reported on Wednesday that the diversified major had executed a share sale agreement with Sprott Inc and Exploration Capital Partners, over its shareholding in the company.
Without giving any details of the transaction, Heron said that Sprott’s acquisition of the BHP shareholding provided an additional market endorsement for the company’s development strategy for the Woodlawn zinc/base metals deposit, in New South Wales.
Following the March merger with TriAusMin, Heron’s focus has been on establishing the Woodlawn project as a zinc, copper and lead concentrate producer.
A scoping study and preliminary economic assessment work had started on the proposed underground project, with preliminary investigation also under way to access the underground project.
Furthermore, an optimsiation study has also started on the tailings retreatment project flow sheet.
The Woodlawn project comprises the underground project, the tailings retreatment project and the regional exploration project. The mine has historically produced some 13.8-million tonnes, at 9.1% zinc, 3.6% lead, 1.6% copper, 05 g/t gold and 74 g/t silver.
The tailings retreatment project was expected to process some 11-million tonnes of tailings produced by the former Woodlawn mine, and processing would separate zinc, copper and lead concentrate that contain by-product silver and gold.
BHP earlier this month announced plans to spin off noncore businesses estimated to be worth $16-billion to focus on iron-ore, copper, coking coal, petroleum and potash.