The Thunderbird mineral sands project, in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, has started producing ore, several weeks ahead of the original final investment decision, ASX-listed Sheffield Resources reported on Monday.
The initial stages of ore processing would see a gradual ramp-up through to steady state processing, production of concentrates, and building of concentrate product stockpiles on site and at the Port of Broome in preparation for the first delivery of product to customers.
Sheffield said Kimberley Mineral Sands, its 50%-owned joint venture with Yansteel, would load the first shipment of concentrate product early in the first quarter of next year.
“Delivery of a greenfield mining project in Australia can be a challenging experience, particularly for a junior miner. Overcoming these hurdles, especially in the current inflationary environment to deliver first ore production ahead of schedule and under budget and without a lost-time injury is an outstanding achievement that each and every one associated with Thunderbird should be incredibly proud of,” said Kimberley executive chairperson Bruce Griffin, congratulating the team that successfully delivered the project.
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 are estimated to produce 1.4-million tonnes a year of zircon and ilmenite concentrates over an estimated 36-year life-of-mine.