- Iron ore miner Macarthur Minerals (MIO) has surged on the ASX today after kicking off mine planning work at its Lake Giles project in WA
- The dual-listed business is taking advantage of strong iron ore prices to develop a mine plan for a direct shipment ore (DSO) product from the Ularring Hematite Project
- The planned mining campaign will target the Snark and Drabble Downs deposits in the area, with planning to be completed before the end of June
- Macarthur then plans to lodge a mining proposal during the September quarter of this year
- The company plans to develop a simple, low-cost DSO operation that will use mobile crushing and screening equipment
- Importantly, Macarthur said this approach will not diminish the potential for a beneficiated sinter fines product, as outlined in a 2012 feasibility study
- The company has kicked off talks with haulage contractors and found some important rail and export options using existing regional infrastructure
- Investors have reacted well to the news today, with Macarthur shares up over 28 per cent to trade at 50 cents each this afternoon
Iron ore miner Macarthur Minerals (MIO) has surged on the ASX today after announced it has kicked off mine planning work at its Lake Giles project in WA.
The dual-listed company, which also trades on the TSX Ventures Exchange under the ticker MMS, is taking advantage of strong iron ore prices and preparing a mine plan for a direct shipment ore (DSO) product at the Ularring Hematite Project, which is part of Lake Giles.
The planned mining campaign will initially target the Snark and Drabble Downs deposits in the project area.
Macarthur told shareholders this morning it plans to complete its mine planning work before the end of June, with a mining proposal to be lodged during the September quarter of this year.
Capitilising on strong prices
Macarthur completed a pre-feasibility study for the Ularring project back in 2012 that included “beneficiation of low-grade iron mineralisation”, according to the company.
However, Macarthur said given the current strength of the global iron ore market, management decided there is scope for the company to develop a simple DSO operation that will use mobile crushing and screening equipment.
As such, the mine planning work will be based on this idea and designed for rapid development and low-cost operations.
Importantly, Macarthur said this low-cost approach will not diminish the potential for a beneficiated sinter fines product, as was originally outlined in the 2012 feasibility study.
The mine planning work to be completed ahead of the mining proposal will include project optimisation, mine design and layout, mine cost estimation and more.
“Iron ore is experiencing one of the largest price surges in decades, and our shareholders have been eagerly anticipating the company’s advancement of early hematite mining operations at Ularring,” Macarthur CEO Andrew Bruton said.
“The current market has presented both opportunities and challenges for the last several months as the company navigates an increase in competitive demand for transport infrastructure and port access,” he said.
The company explained that the Snark and Drabble Downs deposits lie near the Evanston-Menzies road in WA, which provides direct access to sealed highways leading to both the Port of Geraldton and the Port of Esperance.
As such, Macarthur has kicked off talks with haulage contractors and found some important rail and export options using existing regional infrastructure.
“We are pleased to finally provide the market with the details of the next step towards this much anticipated corporate milestone being completed, and I look forward to keeping investors informed of the exciting developments along the pathway towards achieving our first shipment of iron ore,” Andrew said.
Investors have reacted exceptionally well to the news today, with Macarthur shares up 28.4 per cent at 2:30 pm AEST to 50 cents each.