There is actually some very good info on the whole Cape Preston outlook on Citic's site. Worth a look.
Attached the paragraph on Magnetite.
MAgnetite Processing Magnetite mining and value adding is much more intensive than the process required for the more traditionally mined hematite ore.
Getting the ore out of the ground is the start of a more complex mining process. Once it has been extracted, it must go through a highly technical process to separate out and crush the magnetite into a concentrate – for direct export or for conversion into pellets.
View a PDF version of this Diagram (Large)
The first stage is to feed the ore through a primary crusher, located in-pit. The crushed ore is then transported to a concentrator, which is comprised of a series of mills and other processes. Each of the eight mills stands over 17 metres high and 12 metres in diameter.
The mills produce a fine ore stream that can be separated by magnetic separators to either concentrate or tailings. The resulting concentrate will be thickened and stored before being pumped 25 kilometres to the port, where it is filtered to reduce moisture.
Around 75% of the concentrate will be shipped direct to China for blast furnacing, with the remainder being processed into pellets. These pellets are able to be used as a feedstock to blast furnaces in the production of steel.
The concentrate and pellets from the Sino Iron project will be a superior product for steel making because:
There is virtually no undesirable phosphorous There is virtually no alumina, and no silica Less energy is required to process magnetite into steel in comparison to hematite
ARH Price at posting:
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