PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mineral sands miner Strandline Resources is preparing for the wet commissioning of its concentrator plant at the Coburn project, in Western Australia, as project construction was more than 90% complete.
The ASX-listed company on Thursday said it would make its first concentrate shipment in the coming quarter, with each shipment expected to be valued at around A$10-million at current spot prices.
“We are now in the home straight to achieve first production, with key aspects of construction and commissioning of the wet concentrator running several weeks ahead of schedule,” Strandline MD Luke Graham said.
“At this stage, we are on track to make our first shipment of heavy mineral concentrate in the coming quarter. The mineral sands market outlook remains very strong, with global supplies tight and demand buoyant.
“At current prices, we expect each shipment of concentrate to be valued at around A$10-million, assuming 10 000 t free-on-board shipments. These sales will bring forward cashflow and further de-risk the operational ramp-up,” said Graham.
He noted that the enhanced detailed mine schedule, incorporating the latest infill ‘grade control’ drilling and mine optimisation work, has mining starting from surface in the initial openpits.
Coburn has an ore reserves of 523-million tonnes and an initial mine life of 22.5 years at a planned average mining rate of 23.4-million tonnes a year, with the potential to extend its mine life to more than 37 years.