Bidaminna vs. Yandanooka

It is interesting to see on page 4 of the AGM presso that the Yandanooka project, which was one of the tenements acquired as part of the Eneabba package from Sheffield Resources last November, has been fast tracked into the IMA growth strategy forecast with an internal feasibility study already underway since the beginning of this year.

Looking at the Yandanooka project it would appear to be very attractive as a mid term growth option for IMA, containing 60.8Mt of HMS resource with 3% HM @ 1.4% cutoff and 89% VHM (12.1% zircon, 70% chloride grade ilmenite, 3.6% leucoxene and 3.5% rutile). The resource is also well defined with 2.6Mt measured, 57.7Mt indicated and only .4Mt inferred. Slimes at 15% and oversized at 11.5% are pretty standard.

The deposit is of an outcropping dunal style with mineralisation occurring from surface, so minimal overburden, with an average depth of 8 metres, and amenable to dry mining. It also lies on cleared freehold land close to the Midlands highway and railway linking to Geraldton port 140k's away. Yandanooka also is surrounded by a lower grade halo deposit which, if included in the resource estimate, increases the HMS resource to 95.9Mt with 2.3% HM @ .9% cutoff. There is a good 2013 summary of the project (link) on the SFX website with plan and cross section deposit views and met test results.

Biddaminna by comparison contains 102Mt of HMS resource with 2.2% HM @ .5% cutoff and 94% VHM (5% zircon, 48% ilmenite, 36% leucoxene and 4% rutile, so more of a Ti02 deposit), the resource is not so well defined with 17Mt indicated and 84Mt inferred. Slimes 3.3% & oversized 2.2% are very low. The deposit lies below the water table with 1:1 overburden so will require extensive clearing before dredging operations could commence.

However the deposit lies on crown land under native vegetation cover adjacent to the Moore River National Park, so permitting could be challenging to say the very least. (chapeau @2ic for the heads up in Post #: 56600775).

According to the growth strategy forecast, both projects could commence in 2025 and are targeting 10 years production. I don't think management needs a completed BFS in order to prioritise Yandanooka over Biddaminna as a mid term development option.