PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Strike Resources is readying for the maiden shipment from its Paulsens East iron-ore mine, in the Pilbara, before the end of August, but has paused further shipments.
The company on Thursday said that 60 000 t of lump direct shipping ore (DSO) had been stockpiled at the Utah Point multi-user bulk handling facility, in Port Hedland, with a further 6 000 t to be hauled to the port prior to being loaded onto a carrier for a scheduled shipment.
The maiden shipment has been sold to a Hong Kong-based buyer.
Strike told shareholders that while the successful shipment of its first shipment of iron-ore from Paulsens East would be a significant milestone, the company had determined to pause on further shipments from Utah Point given current market conditions, in particular taking into account the low benchmark iron-ore price relative to prices earlier in the year, together with rising input costs adversely impacting operating margins.
The operations at the mine will over the coming week process ore in circuit with operations to be wound down in an orderly manner and to facilitate the potential to resume export in the short- to medium-term should market conditions improve.
Paulsens East Stage 1 production involves the mining of surface detrital material processing to produce Paulsens East lump DSO, with road train haulage to the Utah Point for export.
Stage 2 development will involve the conventional openpit mining of the Paulsens East hematite ridge, ramping up to an annualised production rate of up to 1.8-million tonnes a year, with road train haulage to and export through the Port of Ashburton near Onslow.