PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Magnetite Mines has reported a 340% increase in the ore reserves for its Razorback iron project, in South Australia, as well as the results of an optimisation study which identified the optimum development pathway.

Magnetite Mines on Monday said that the best-case project configuration confirmed a staged development with a Stage 1 capacity of five-million tonnes a year of concentrate output, with the potential to expand to ten-million tonnes after five years.

The Stage 1 project will take advantage of existing transport infrastructure, including rail and port, with renewable energy for the project supplied from South Australia’s electricity grid.

“These outstanding optimisation study results highlight the exceptional value of our 100%-owned Razorback iron-ore project and validate Magnetite Mines' decision to incorporate market feedback into a larger, higher-value Stage 1 development scenario,” said MD Tim Dobson.

“The project has been optimised on all fronts, headlined by a substantial, but manageable, Stage 1 production scenario capable of producing five-million tonnes per year, with potential staged expansion up to ten-million tonnes a year. We are now prioritising the assessment of Iron Peak for ore reserves, enabling the completion of financial modelling for the new project configuration, and taking advantage of Iron Peak’s superior mass recovery and metallurgy.

“Magnetite Mines is creating an extraordinary opportunity to capitalise on the fast-growing momentum towards green steel, with the focus of regional steelmakers now increasingly on supply from tier 1 jurisdictions with renewable energy grids and emerging green hydrogen production such as South Australia. We are well positioned to now enter a final study phase and deliver a definitive feasibility study based on a superior project design, which will generate significant, sustainable value for all shareholders.”

Meanwhile, the company on Monday also updated the ore reserve at Razorback to 1.6-billion tonnes of iron-ore, a 1.1-billion-tonne increase over the 2021 maiden ore reserve.

“The updated ore reserves are classified as probable and have been calculated using only the most accurate and highest-confidence project data available. With a mass recovery of 14.2%, these ore reserves would sustain operations at five-million-tonnes-per-year production for around 45 years,” said Dobson.

“The team is now completing mining studies on the recently upgraded, high-grade Iron Peak deposit and we can expect a further uplift in project ore reserves to be announced in the near future.”