Dual-listed Bluejay Mining has confirmed that Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Canada is assessing the commercial potential of its Dundas ilmenite project, in Greenland.
The company said on Wednesday that nothing had been finalised at this stage, noting that the news had been released accidentally as a result of a technical issue during website maintenance.
“The company will make a further announcement as and when appropriate,” said Bluejay.
The project is said to be the highest-grade ilmenite asset in the world and its geographic location in Greenland – strategically located between North America and Europe – provides it with a significant cost advantage over the Rio Tinto-owned Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa.
Rio Tinto reported intermittent stoppages related to labour disputes between contractors and their employees at RBM in the first six months of last year, prompting analysts to speculate that the company could start looking for new supply for its Quebec ilmenite and titanium business.
The Dundas project is at an advanced stage and has a total resource of 96-million tonnes at 6.9% ilmenite. A prefeasibility study for the project will be published in the first quarter of this year.
Shares in Bluejay fell 10% on Wednesday in London, trading at a low of 12.6p a share.