Manuka Sources Restricted (“Manuka” or the “Firm”) has introduced Taranaki VTM Undertaking Delivers Sturdy Pre-Feasibility Examine.
Highlights
Up to date Pre-Feasibility Study1 (“PFS”) launched for the New Zealand-based Taranaki VTM Undertaking (“the Undertaking”) owned by Manuka Sources Restricted (“MKR”, the “Firm”) subsidiary, Trans-Tasman Sources Restricted (“TTR”).
Preliminary 20-year Manufacturing Goal underpinned by 75% Indicated Sources and 25% Inferred Sources positioned on granted Mining Allow MP55581.Undertaking to ship a big contribution to native growth within the Taranaki area of New Zealand and help the NZ authorities in delivering in opposition to its important minerals coverage targets.The Undertaking was included in Schedule 2 (tasks to be straight referred to an Skilled Panel) of the not too long ago handed New Zealand Quick Monitor Approvals Act 20242.Following completion of the present approval course of, the Firm intends to progress to a Bankable Feasibility Examine (“BFS”) consisting of detailed vessel engineering and the event of procurement and funding methods.The Firm will shortly submit its approval utility and start the New Zealand Quick Monitor approvals course of.
MKR Director and TTR Government Charman Alan Eggers commented:
“The Taranaki VTM Undertaking is an thrilling, financially sturdy and doubtlessly company- making alternative that gives Manuka shareholders with strategic publicity to important minerals. The excellent PFS outcomes launched at this time construct upon a considerable physique of technical and environmental work accomplished over the previous 10 years.
The Undertaking is one in every of nationwide significance for New Zealand whose acknowledged goal is to double mineral export earnings from NZ$1.5B to NZ$3B each year over the following decade. The Taranaki VTM Undertaking is forecast to generate NZ$854M income each year representing over 50% of the focused enhance.
Importantly, the Undertaking will ship substantial advantages to the Taranaki and Whanganui areas with over 300 new full-time native jobs and NZ$238M each year expenditure injected into the native economic system.
With the up to date PFS full, we are actually trying ahead to progressing the Undertaking by way of the New Zealand Quick-Monitor approvals course of and turning our consideration to workstreams associated to Undertaking supply and execution”
Undertaking Overview
The Taranaki VTM Undertaking (“the Undertaking”) is positioned offshore alongside the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand within the South Taranaki Bight inside water depths of between 20m to 50m and includes granted mining allow MMP55581 and granted exploration allow MEP54068 masking a big world-class Useful resource of vanadium and titanium bearing iron sands positioned on the seabed ground (Determine 1, Desk 1).
Each vanadium and titanium have not too long ago been named on New Zealand’s Important Minerals Listing.
The Undertaking PFS contemplates the mining of iron sands from the shallow seabed ground inside MP55581 through an underwater seabed crawler at a charge of 50Mtpa. The crawler will pump sediment as seawater slurry to a floor vessel (Built-in Mining Vessel, “IMV”) (Determine 2) the place the sand will endure beneficiation right into a saleable vanadiferous titanomagnetite (“VTM”) focus with an iron grade of ~57% Fe, 0.50% V2O5 and titanium of 8.4% TiO2.
The Undertaking is scheduled to provide VTM focus at a charge of 4.9Mtpa. The steadiness of the mined sand (~45Mtpa) shall be returned repeatedly to the seabed ground behind the floor vessel the place it will likely be restored to its pure state inside two years.
Determine 1: Location of the VTM Undertaking with respect to Mineral Useful resource define, granted Mining Allow MMP55581 (inside New Zealand’s Unique Financial Zone) and Exploration Allow MEP54068 (inside New Zealand Territorial Waters).
Determine 2: The proposed Built-in Mining Vessel and related subsurface seabed crawler and simultaneous re-deposition of put up processed sands.
Desk 1: VTM Undertaking Mineral Useful resource Estimate (March 2023)See ASX Announcement 1 March 2023. All Sources are reported at a 3.5% DTR cut-off aside from the Tasman Block which is reported at a 7.5% Fe2O3 Minimize-Off
Manufacturing Overview
The iron sands shall be mined utilizing two seabed crawlers (Determine 3), one working and one standby. Sand extraction (50Mtpa) will happen in lanes, on common 5m deep with the crawler advancing at a charge of 0.04km/h and pumping 8,000 tph of sand as a seawater slurry to the IMV.
The ROM sand shall be screened, magnetically separated and floor earlier than closing magnetic separation to provide a clear focus. All processing shall be finished moist utilizing seawater all through the method. The ultimate focus shall be dewatered to ~10% moisture and saved quickly on the IMV earlier than being slurried with recent water from a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant.
The slurry shall be pumped to a floating storage and offloading vessel (“FSO”) the place it will likely be dewatered and saved within the FSO holds. As soon as absolutely loaded, the FSO sails to a sheltered space (if required by prevailing climate situations) the place it offloads the cargo to an ore provider, usually a Capesize vessel for cargo to market.
Tailings shall be disposed of in real-time through a fall pipe extending ahead off the port facet of the IMV such that the tailings are deposited so far as attainable from the face of mine. The tailings disposal fall pipe shall be of an analogous design to a trailing suction hopper dredge drag arm. The tailings will first be dewatered through hydro cyclones with the wastewater disposed of individually alongside the tailings fall pipe.
Operations shall be 24 hours a day, 7 days per week with an estimated 28% downtime attributable to inclement climate situations, servicing and upkeep.
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