Name and Location
Buckland iron-ore project, Western Pilbara, Australia.

Client
Iron Ore Holdings (IOH).

Project Description
The Buckland project comprises a group of five deposits – Bungaroo South, Dragon, Rabbit, Rooster and Snake.

A prefeasibility study (PFS) on the Buckland project has confirmed the technical and financial viability of a four- to eight-million-tonne-a-year mining operation from the Bungaroo South deposit, which will also include using transport by private haul roads and shipping through a transshipment facility at Cape Preston East.

The project is underpinned by a total Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant measured, indicated and inferred mineral resource estimate of 283.3-million tonnes and a total proven and probable reserve estimate of 127-million, with an average grade of 57.6% iron.

Ore will be mined from the Bungaroo South mining lease.

For the first two-and-half years, ore will be mined from above the water table at a nominal rate of four-million tons a year.

As mining progresses, the ore will be extracted from below the water table and the production rate will be increased to eight-million tons of product.

The dry processing flowsheet is a conventional direct-shipping-ore-style crush and screen plant, while the wet processing flowsheet is based on a standard deslime concept.

Wet processing will have a major positive impact on the overall product quality, with a 58% iron product targeted.

At an initial production rate of four-million tonnes a year, ore will be hauled using a mix of public and private roads over 190 km, with 115 t payload road train combinations under a concessional loading scheme.

At the eight-million-tonne-a-year production level, a 200 t payload off-road truck combination will be used for transport.

As 200 t truck payloads are not permitted on public roads, a 70 km infill road section will be created, resulting in about 195 km of private road from mine to port.

Based on relatively shallow marine conditions in the area, IOH proposes the development of a modest-scale barging facility, which does not involve channel dredging.

It is proposed that a large 15 000-t-capacity self-powered vessel with self-unloading capability be used for transshipping.

Front-end loaders will reclaim ore from port stockpiles and deliver it into a landside loading bin.

Conveyors will link the landside facilities with a barge loader at the ocean side of a 1.4 km A-frame finger jetty.

Value
The capital cost to four-million tonnes is $575-million and to eight-million tonnes $235-million.

Duration
Project construction is expected to start in 2014, with the first truckload of ore expected in 2016, subject to the receipt of all necessary approvals and funding arrangements.

Latest Developments
The Western Australian Minister for the Environment has approved the proposal submitted to the Environment Protection Authority for the development and operation of a mine at Bungaroo South, including the associated infrastructure and haul roads, subject to conditions consistent with other mine and associated infrastructure developments in Western Australia.

It is planned that all primary approvals, leases and licences will be secured by the second quarter of this year, coinciding with the completion of the final feasibility study on the project.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
IOH, tel +61 8 9483 2000, fax +61 8 9321 0322 or email info@ironoreholdings.com.