PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Production ramp-up at the Boonanarring mineral sands project, in Western Australia, has started.
ASX-listed Image Resources said on Tuesday that the completion of wet commissioning and the start of production ramp-up at Boonanarring presented another development milestone for the project.
Boonanarring in November produced its first heavy mineral concentrate (HMC), with first revenue expected in January 2019.
MD Patrick Mutz said on Tuesday that the date for the first HMC shipment was being adjusted to allow for a larger bulk shipment to accommodate higher-than-anticipated production rates, which would have the added benefit of lower shipping costs on a unit basis.
The Boonanarring deposit is expected to deliver 1.1-million tonnes of HMC and the Atlas deposit an additional 711 000 t. The Boonanarring deposit is estimated to have an initial mine life of five years, after which mining will move to the Atlas deposit, which will add a further three years to the overall mine life.