PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Metallica Minerals has identified three potential logistic options for its Urquhart bauxite project, in the Cape York Peninsula.
The company on Friday told shareholders that an updated prefeasibility study for the Urquhart project would determine the appropriate logistical option, with the study scheduled for completion by the end of December.
Once an appropriate logistical option had been identified, Metallica would move to gain regulatory approvals for the logistical options.
Metallica in April this year was forced to push back mining at Urquhart after the company failed to access port facilities for the bauxite project. The company had undertaken negotiations for a possible priority access to the barge loading facility owned by Green Coast Resources at Hey Point.
However, the negotiations failed to result in a viable commercial contract that would allow Metallica and its joint venture (JV) partner to use the Hey Point infrastructure during 2019.
The company on Friday said that the three new options under consideration include the construction of a shiploader adjacent to the Urquhart heavy mineral sands (HMS) mining lease, owned by the JV, with a conveyor crossing over Roberts Creek from the bauxite lease to the HMS lease; the construction with a shiploader adjacent to the HMS mining lease and a 17-km haul road leading from the bauxite resource through to the HMS area; or a barge-loading facility adjacent to the bauxite mining lease, which will also require a jetty.
Metallica noted that a key component of the future shiploader option analysis would include working towards a funding solution as well as various government, traditional owner and stakeholder approvals, as well as agreements for the substantial capital costs required for construction.