looks good

Brockman builds billion-tonne resource - Part 2

Thursday, 12 June 2008

THE haematitic detrital processing methodology Brockman intends using at Marillana is a simple gravity separation flow sheet that consists of crushing, heavy media separation, jigs, cyclones and spirals.


The technology is well proven and has an impressive track record with beneficiation plants having been designed and operated at various mines throughout WA over the years at such prestigious operations as BHP Billiton’s Mt Whaleback and Finucane Island operations, and Rio Tinto’s Tom Price and Paraburdoo projects.

These plants generally treat low-grade contact ore, but the process is still the same – separating the heavy iron formation from lighter chert and shale.

“It’s not new technology; the technology has been around forever and a day. It’s just gravity separation,” Richards said.

“Detrital projects have been quiet since Rio built Brockman 2, but Fortescue Mining Group is building a beneficiation plant to upgrade their ore. So the technology is as old as 20 years and as new as today.”

Other benefits associated with the processing of the detrital ores include the low capital expenditure involved due to lower operating and energy costs as there is generally no secondary, tertiary or quarternary crushing or grinding required of the ore.

“As the mineralisation is essentially a gravel with a maximum size of 25 millimetres, we are not going to have to go through the extra crushing stages.”

Marillana also has the added bonus of low strip ratios of approximately 1.5:1 and, according to Richards, it is basically all free dig.

“All this material is basically covered with unconsolidated gravel so we totally avoid the dig and blast requirements,” he said.

“This project is sound both geologically and geographically. We are obviously surrounded by BHP, Rio, FMG and Hancock, so we are in the middle of all the big players.

“We also have the Roy Hill road that allows us to truck anything out because the road goes right through our tenement and we are not very far from several existing rail lines.

“So we are sitting pretty when it comes to long-term infrastructure.”

Besides making progress in discussions with third-party infrastructure owners and the Port Hedland Port Authority regarding ore transport, unloading and shipping options, Brockman is also finding it is in constant demand for discussions with major Chinese companies.

“We have signed a couple of deeds of confidentiality for further discussions with Chinese partners,” Richards said.

“Ongoing discussions are happening with potential off-take agreements and potential equity positions with a number of Chinese investors that are seeking to gain an early seed in the company.”

Brockman is planning an aggressive exploration program for the remainder of 2008 in parallel with additional metallurgical testwork to finalise the extent of the mineralisation at Rockhole Bore and Abalone.

The company recently completed a scoping study at Marillana that looked at the potential of a 2, 5 or 10 million tonnes per annum operation, with the updated resource providing a strong foundation for ongoing activities.

* This report, first published in the May 2008 edition of RESOURCESTOCKS magazine, was commissioned by Brockman