Ann todayRead the figuresMt Carbine Tailings Project – Tungsten...

Ann today
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Mt Carbine Tailings Project – Tungsten Production in 2009
Icon has acquired the rights to 100% of the Mt Carbine tungsten mine near Cairns in north Queensland, as previously announced in Icon’s March 2008 Quarterly Report. Prior to its closure in the mid 1980s, Mt Carbine was Australia’s largest tungsten producer with a partially completed decline to start an underground operation.
Icon has a staged development program for the re-development of Mt Carbine; namely:
• Stage 1 retreatment of the tailings;
• Stage 2 re-opening of the open pit, and
• Stage 3 re-opening of the underground mine.
The staged program allows for Stages 2 and 3 to be largely funded from ongoing cash flows from Stage 1. The overall mine life is expected to be greater than 10 years, subject to positive feasibility results for each development stage.
Icon has just received current independent preliminary capital and operating cost estimates for the Stage 1 retreatment of around ~2.5Mt of tailings. The average tailings grade is expected to be relatively high at around 0.11% WO3 due to historically low recoveries in the mill that operated until 1986. Recent sampling by the Company as reported in the March quarterly confirms this grade expectation.
Esker Milling and Processing Pty Ltd has designed and costed a flow sheet for Stage 1, principally involving gravity separation and flotation of the tailings, which can later be used as the ‘fines recovery end’ of a fully developed plant to treat primary open pit and underground ore as part of the Stage 2 and 3 projects.
An initial scoping capital estimate is $6.2M plus working capital. The presence of an existing quarry operation on site within a granted mining lease along with the availability of power and water onsite will enable fast tracking of the Stage 1 tailings project. Construction could be underway in the 2H 2008 and first tailings treatment and tungsten production targeted for early 2009.
The current plan for Stage 1 envisages a 2.5 year project life processing 1Mt pa of tailings which is expected to be treated by gravity separation and flotation. This is expected to produce ~750t pa of tungsten in concentrate with annual revenue in the order of $20M and a pre-tax operating surplus of at least $8M at current tungsten prices

The Company is currently focused on further sampling the tailings to increase confidence in estimated grades as well as confirming the tonnages available, and conducting flotation tests and securing the services of an engineering company to design and construct the plant.
Tungsten Prices
Tungsten prices have increased significantly over the last few years due to emerging strong Asian demand. China has been the world’s largest supplier but recently declared tungsten as a strategic metal, effectively preventing its export (China has ~66% of the world’s tungsten reserves.)
Tungsten APT United States $ per short ton unitSource: Metal Bulletin/BloombergMount Carbine mine closesOne short ton = 2000lb vs metric tonne = 2,204.6lb; APT = Ammonium Paratungstate which is a more refined product hence will receive a higher price than tungsten concentrateUS $ per short ton unit
Funding
Icon is currently finalising the details of a renounceable rights issue which will address all of the Company's short term funding requirements as well as providing shareholders with the opportunity to participate in the equity funding component of the tailings project.
Managing Director,