PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified junior Metallica Minerals has been granted environmental approval from the Queensland government for the mining lease application (MLA) covering its Urquhart Point zircon/rutile heavy mineral sands (HMS) project.
Metallica MD Andrew Gillies said on Friday that the issuing of the environmental authority was a significant permitting milestone for the company, paving the way for the MLA to be submitted to the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, for consideration for a mining lease.
Oresome Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Metallica, holds the MLA, which incorporates high-grade mineral sand from surface to a depth of 3 m.
The project has an indicated resource estimate of 2.7-million tonnes, grading 6.5% heavy minerals.
Gillies said that subject to the mining lease being granted, and funding obtained by the end of 2013, Metallica would target zircon/rutile HMS production for the third quarter of 2014.
He added that Oresome was in the process of obtaining quotes from suppliers for plant and equipment required to establish a full-scale commercial mineral sands operation, with a processing throughput target of 300 t/h, to produce 20 000 t/y of 50%-zircon and 40%-rutile sand concentrate.
Metallica is also actively exploring appropriate funding and offtake options to enable the planned development of the project.
Meanwhile, further exploration work has also been planned for the 300 km coastline between Weipa and the tip of the Cape York Peninsula, as Urquhart Point consisted of only a very small portion of the exploration permits and applications covering some 2 000 km2 of ground.