Seeking a clearer Image
SEEMS the traders -- and even a few analysts -- failed to get the message with the first resources statement from Image Resources (IMA).
Its shares were dumped when people interpreted the resource from its North Perth Basin mineral sands project as being small. No, it's not. There's 6.4 million tonnes of heavy minerals: 340,000 tonnes of leucoxene and rutile, 4.5 million tonnes of ilmenite, 545,000 tonnes of zircon and 390,000 tonnes of garnet. Here are two key factors: much of it can be dredge-mined, which is much cheaper than dry mining; and there's little overburden to be removed before mining.
This resource has an in-ground value of about $1.2 billion. Yet it is based on less than 10 per cent of IMA's ground in the area, and the group has another 250km of drill targets.
Image plans to put out a further statement today to try to get its message through. This resource is enough to sustain mining, and Image is looking at a pre-feasibility study.
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