Posted on 12 Jul 2021
Western Australian (WA) mining entrepreneur Tony Sage has begun hauling iron ore from the Wiluna West JWD mine in the Mid-West region of the state to the port of Geraldton, as he begins to resurrect his iron ore mining empire.
Sage's firm Fe is ahead on its plans to ship first ore from JWD before the end of September and will join the vendor of the project GWR in shipping iron ore through the port of Geraldton.
Fe must mine and truck 300,000t of ore from JWD by September to meet a clause under its iron rights agreement. It has an option to access a further 2.7mn t of ore with an average grade of 63.7pc Fe and 65pc lump content, on payment of A$4.25mn to GWR. Beyond that initial 3mn t, Fe must pay GWR a royalty of A$3.50/t on ore sold.
Fe estimates the JWD resources at 10.7mn t at 63.7pc Fe, using a 55pc Fe cut-off.
Beyond JWD, Fe is working on proving up and gaining approvals for the 4mn-6mn t at the 60-62pc Fe Yarram iron ore deposit in the Northern Territory, with a plan to begin work on site in October-December subject to approvals. It plans to truck the ore 110km from Yarram to Darwin for export.
Sage came to prominence in 2008 when he sold the Mount Anketell iron ore magnetite project to construction firm the Metallurgical Corporation of China for A$400mn ($300mn). He remains active in the WA resources industry and his firm Cape Lambert, now renamed Cyclone Metals, has looked at several key iron ore targets. He is one of several entrepreneurs looking to capitalise on strong iron ore prices through the development of new or existing mining opportunities across Australia.
Argus yesterday assessed the ICX price for 62pc Fe at $213.55/ dry metric tonne (dmt) on 9 July, down from a recent peak of $235.55/dmt on 12 May but up from $149.85/dmt on 2 February.
Source:Argus
