PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed junior Kogi Iron will start a scoping study for a five-million-tonne-a-year iron-ore operation at its Agbaja project, in Nigeria, after a barging study delivered five possible scenarios to transport ore from the project area.

The transport options included the use of a stockpile facility at Port Warri, stockpiles at the mouth of the Forcados river, at the mouth of the Escravos river, delivery of ore to an ocean-going vessel and the use of a floating storage unit moored at a transshipment site.

The use of the Warri stockpile was currently considered the optimal solution from an operating and cost perspective, Kogi said on Monday, with the option of assuming the use of existing port infrastructure and allowing for continuous delivery of iron-ore concentrate from river barges.

A barge loading location, south of Banda, had been recommended owing to proximity to new road infrastructure, access to the Niger river, seasonal variation in water levels, and the least exposure to flooding.

“The barging study was of a very high standard and will form the basis of the scoping study under way, to evaluate a five-million-tonne-a-year iron-ore operation at Agbaja,” said Kogi MD Iggy Tan.

He noted that the barge study demonstrated that barging transportation of the iron-ore product was not only a readily available and effective transport route, but also the most economical option.

“The barging study demonstrated a lower capital and operating cost scenario for the proposed operation, compared with using the existing unused Itakpe/Ajaokuta railway line to Port Warrawi, which is more suited to larger annual tonnages.”

However, Tan noted that the company would continue to advance access and usage agreements with the Nigerian government for the heavy haulage railway, as it remained an important part of a longer-term transport solution for an expanded production profile past five-million tonnes a year.