PERTH (miningweekly.com) - ASX-listed Jupiter Mines has increased its Mount Ida magnetite resource by some 615-million tons, at 28.86% iron, giving the project a total resource of some 1.85-billion tons at 29.48% iron.
The additional resources were identified at the Northern and Southern zones of the project area, in Western Australia.
Jupiter said on Tuesday that the defined mineralisation in the South zone extended for some 3 km along strike and was over 1 km wide, while the mineralisation in the North zone had been identified over a strike of 1 km and a width of 600 m.
In November last year, Jupiter halted further expenditure on its Mount Ida project, after a feasibility study showed that the project would cost more than initially estimated.
While the scoping study had identified a ten-million-ton-a-year operation, with a capital cost of some $1.5-billion, the feasibility study indicated higher capital and operating costs for the project. Taken together with the recent depressed iron-ore prices and the strong exchange rate environment, the Jupiter board concluded that it was in the best interest of the company to freeze expenditure.
However, Jupiter said on Tuesday that the company’s focus was now on evaluating the feasibility study work done to date, in order to recommend project capital expenditure and operating expenditure optimisation strategies to make the project financially attractive for development.