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THE AUSTRALIAN MINING REVIEW FEBRUARY 2013 www.miningoilgas.com.au SPECIAL PROFILE Karara Iron Ore Project
Striking while the iron is hot
LAURA KILBORN
THE development of Gindalbie Metals’ Karara project has had its less-than-lustrous moments, but with the maiden shipments of hematite direct shipping ore (DSO) and magnetite concentrate having recently departed from the mine’s export facilities, the company’s future looks bright.
The rapidly advancing $2.4 billion project, operated under the Karara Mining joint venture between Perth-based Gindalbie and Chinese steelmaker and miner Ansteel, encompasses one major magnetite deposit and multiple hematite deposits. Both production milestones occurred in the fourth quarter of 2012.
About 200km west of Geraldton, the Karara project is expected to be a substantial, long-life ore producer. Under a life-of-mine offtake contract, Ansteel will accept 100 per cent of the output from Karara, which has an eventual total production target of 30 million tonnes per annum.
Gindalbie is also the sole owner the Shine deposit, about 40km northeast of the Karara project. Testing completed in the third quarter of 2012 showed a total hematite resource of 6.1mt (measured, indicated and inferred) at the deposit, with an average grade of 59.57 per cent (60.5, 59.6 and 58.6 per cent, respectively).
A feasibility study for Shine was nearing completion and the project’s proximity to Karara’s logistics chain made it an attractive development option, corporate affairs manager Michael Weir said. Subject to a positive outcome, he said the project would rapidly move into production.
Gindalbie also controls what it calls “a highly-prospective portfolio” of 1900 square kilometres in the state’s Mid West, which is projected to contain small to medium-sized ore bodies. One of these is the Lodestone magnetite prospect, 50km
The Karara project is expected to be a long-life iron ore producer
The project was started nearly from scratch, requiring extensive construction and infrastructure work
southeast of Karara, which comprises a banded iron formation 6km long and up to 800m wide.
For now, however, most of Gindalbie’s efforts – and money – are focussed on the Karara project. After a lengthy construction process and cost blowouts, the massive asset is producing and exporting as planned, and major effort is going into increasing its output.
Karara Mining was formed in 2007 to enable the creation of the project, the first major magnetite operation in the Mid West.
“It was immensely satisfying to get hematite shipments under way earlier [in 2012], and even more satisfying to produce our first magnetite concentrate from Karara in November,” Mr Weir said.
“Gindalbie, and the magnetite industry generally, has had no shortage of naysayers over the years, and I look forward to seeing those critics silenced as we ramp up to [stage one] full-scale production over the next six months.”
Gindalbie began exporting from the Karara Export Terminal – the first time the entire new mine/rail/port logistics
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