Name of the Project
Thunderbird mineral sands project.

Location
The project is located near Derby, in Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Sheffield Resources.

Project Description
A bankable feasibility study (BFS) has demonstrated a financially robust and technically strong project with a 42-year mine life. The BFS is underpinned by one of the world’s largest and highest-grade zircon- and ilmenite-rich mineral sands ore reserves.

The BFS is based on a conventional dozer trap mineral sands mining and processing operation involving an initial 8.5-million-tonne-a-year throughput (single mining unit), doubling to 17-million tonnes a year in Year 5 through a second mining unit and processing stream.

The first stage of the project is expected to produce more than 500 000 t/y of saleable product and the second stage more than one-million tonnes of saleable product a year, with a life-of-mine average of about 800 000 t/y.

Over its mine life, the project is expected to deliver an estimated 761 000 t/y of premium zircon, 68 500 t/y of zircon concentrate, 387 800 t/y of ilmenite and 229 800 t/y of titanomagnetite.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an estimated net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of A$676-million and an internal rate of return of 25%.

Capital Expenditure
Stage 1 capital has been estimated at A$463-million, with a transition from a build, own, operate model to infrastructure ownership expected to result in a further increase of about A$65-million.

Stage 2 is expected to cost A$195-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The first stage is expected to start in 2019 and end in 2023. Stage 2 is expected to start in 2024.

Latest Developments
Sheffield Resources has reported a 10% increase in the ore reserve at its Thunderbird project, in Western Australia.

An estimated 68-million tonnes have been added to the Thunderbird reserve, bringing it to 748-million tonnes, grading at 11.2% heavy minerals.

The updated ore reserve includes a 500 000 t increase in contained zircon, which is now estimated at 6.4-million tonnes, which Sheffield MD Bruce McFadzean has said underlines the significant scale of the Thunderbird deposit.

The updated ore reserve will form the basis of an update to BFS for the Thunderbird project, which is due for release in this quarter.

The BFS update is targeting a 38% increase in the ore mining rate, the deferral of the low-temperature roast ilmenite circuit and an increase in zircon production, which is expected to deliver lower capital and operating costs, lower construction risk and a financially stronger project.

The increased ore reserve has increased the period of mining the higher-grade T2 ore from seven years to ten years, removing the lower-grade T1 ore from the process plant feed, which increases the in situ zircon grade in the proved category to 1.02% zircon, and reduces the tonnage of the proved category from 235-million to 219-million.

“We will preferentially mine the high grade T2 ore, thereby increasing the feed grade into the processing plant. This approach supports the recent decision to defer the low-temperature roast ilmenite circuit and focus on increased zircon output,” McFadzean has said.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
GR Engineering (design and construction of mineral processing plant, as well as the supporting infrastructure).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Sheffield Resources, tel +61 8 6555 8777, fax +61 8 6555 8787 or email info@sheffieldresources.com.au.