Name and Location
Sino iron project, Pilbara, Australia.

Client
The project is a joint venture between CITIC Pacific Mining, a subsidiary of CITIC Pacific, and the Metallurgical Corporation of China.

Project Description
The Sino project will be the largest magnetite iron-ore mine in Australia once it has been completed. The project will mine about 140-million tonnes a year and the processing plant will handle about 80-million tonnes of material to produce about 24-million tonnes a year of iron-ore.

The ore will be processed through in-pit crushers before being transported to the concentrator.

The crushed ore will then enter giant grinding mills, the most powerful in the world.

There will be six grinding mill lines, each using 44 MW of power and standing more than 17 m high.

The mills will produce a fine ore stream, which will enter magnetic separators to become a concentrate.

The concentrate will be thickened and stored before being pumped 25 km to the port, where it will be filtered to reduce moisture and then exported.

The mine will produce a magnetite concentrate and magnetite pellets.

The project includes significant investment in dedicated infrastructure, including a 450 MW combined-cycle gas-fired power plant, a 51 Gℓ desalination plant and a new port facility.

Value
The cost to build the Sino project has reportedly reached $8-billion, representing a substantial increase of $1-billion.

In January 2007, the project was valued at $1.1-billion, rising to $1.7-billion in the same year, before jumping to $2.59-billion in 2010. The estimated cost of the project at the end of 2011 was $7-billion.

Duration
First concentrate was shipped at the end of 2013.

Latest Developments
The Sino iron project shipped its first iron-ore concentrate at the beginning of December. The shipment is heading to CITIC Pacific’s special steel mill, in China.

Meanwhile, the first concentrator line at the project is now in operation. Commissioning of the second line is progressing, with management focussing on bringing the line into production as soon as possible.

Grinding mills for line three to six have been installed on their foundations.

The remaining works, mainly involving civil construction and installation, have begun.

The power plant, slurry pipeline, desalination plant and port facilities are operational.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
The project has suffered a series of cost overruns and delays. Production is at least two years behind schedule.

Contact Details for Project Information
CITIC Pacific, tel +852 2820 2111, fax +852 2877 2771 or email contact@citicpacific.com,