PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The joint venture (JV) partners in the Karara iron-ore project, in Western Australia, would need to invest a further A$123.6-million into the project to reach nameplate capacity at the project.

ASX-listed Gindalbie Metals on Monday reported that a technical review into the project had identified the need for an additional 55-m-diameter tailings thickener, as well as the construction of a second wet tailings storage facility, and the installation of dewatering cyclones after the rougher magnetic separation stage.

The additional debottlenecking work would allow the Karara project to reach its nameplate capacity of 8.8-million tonnes a year.

Gindalbie flagged the need for additional capital at Karara in November last year, after commissioning and ramp-up of the Karara concentrator took longer than expected.

The miner implemented remedial actions as part of the first phase of the debottlenecking, which included upgrading and refurbishing the tailings filters, constructing a temporary wet tailings facility, and thickener optimisation trials.

These remedial actions meant that the Karara concentrator circuit was now capable of production at around 75% of the nameplate capacity, at a production rate of 6.6-million tonnes a year.

Gindalbie said on Monday that for 2014, some A$111.1-million would be spent on further debottlenecking Karara.

The additional thickener and dewatering cyclones have already been approved by the JV partners, and the projects would be completed by the end of the calendar year. Design work for the wet tailing storage facility was currently in progress, and the capital needs for this project would be presented to the JV partners for approval in the June quarter.

The review also identified a medium-term requirement to increase tailings filtration capacity, which would be needed by the time the two tailings dams have been filled. Gindalbie said that an engineering study would establish the requirements, schedule and cost for this additional failing filter capacity.

Expenditure in 2014 for the additional capacity would be limited to the engineering study.

The Karara project is jointly held by Gindalbie and China’s Ansteel, which recently took majority ownership in the project after exercising its right to convert two shareholder loans of A$60-million in total to new shares in Karara Mining Limited, which operates the project.