Name and Location
Mebaga direct shipping ore (DSO) iron-ore project, Gabon.

Client
Ferrex.

Project Description
A desktop study for operations and associated costs has highlighted significant potential for low operating costs at Ferrex’s 309 km² Mebaga project, in northern Gabon.

It is envisaged that an independent contractor will undertake mining and provide the mining fleet required for the operation. Based on a strip ratio of 1:1, which has been estimated from the drilled area to date at Mebaga, a mining cost of $8/t of run-of mine (RoM) ore delivered is estimated.

There are three styles of ore at Mebaga that will all require slightly different processing – DSO, detrital ore and friable itabirite.

DSO material will be targeted first, with plant expansions to cater for the detrital ore and then the friable itabarite.

One of the main costs associated with bulk commodities is land logistics.

Two scenarios have been investigated. Scenario A envisions a one-million-tonne-a-year start-up operation using trucks to transport the DSO to a barge at Kango, on the Libreville estuary.

Scenario B is a longer-term, three-million-tonne-a-year solution using land transport to get the production to Booue and then to the Port of Libreville.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The company is focusing on closing a new funding option for the project and intends to start drilling in the next dry season, which will be either December this year or January 2015.

This drill programme will be followed by a more in-depth scoping study that will investigate the operating costs in more detail and define the capital costs of the project.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Ferrex, tel +441932 918903; or St Brides Media & Finance, on behalf of Ferrex, tel +44 20 7236 1177 or email info@sbmf.co.uk.