Name and Location
Dandaragan Trough single superphosphate (SSP) project, Australia.

Client
Potash West.

Project Description
The scoping study completed on the production of single superphosphate from Potash West’s Dandaragan Trough project, located 150 km north of Perth, in Western Australia, has demonstrated the robust nature of the project.

The greensand deposits of the Dandaragan Trough are an unconsolidated mixture of silica, glauconite and apatite, similar to the physical characteristics in mineral sand deposits that are mined close by at Cataby and Eneabba. Well established mining techniques for those deposits will be used.

Topsoil and overburden will be mined by scrapers, with the topsoil being replaced as soon is practical.

Mineralisation will be mined using a bulldozer, which feeds an in-pit slurry unit. The slurry will be pumped to a concentrator, where material will be screened and deslimed. Plus 0.5 mm material, containing the bulk of the phosphate, will be milled before being fed to the flotation plant.

The mined phosphate-rich greensands will be treated in a superphosphate processing plant, comprising conventional unit operations, including scrubbing, screening, desliming, magnetic separation and flotation to produce phosphate rock containing >30% phosphorous pentoxide (P₂O₅). The phosphate rock will be acidulated using sulphuric acid to produce SSP containing >18% P₂O₅.

Tailings from the plant will be pumped to a tailings storage facility. Tailings will be dewatered and then returned to the pit as back fill.

The study envisages a mine production rate of 3.8-million tonnes a year to produce an average of 342 000 t/y of SSP.

The project is based on the Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource outlined at Dinner Hill, which is only a small part of the Dandaragan Trough project area. The Dinner Hill deposit is estimated to contain an indicated mineral resource of 90-million tonnes at 2.65% P₂O₅ and 3.6% potassium oxide above a lower cutoff grade of 1.85% P₂O₅.

There is potential to expand the resource to the north and north-east.

Value
The project is estimated at $144.2-million.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The positive outcomes of the study have provided Potash West with the confidence to move forward towards a definitive feasibility study on a standalone phosphate project.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Potash West, tel +61 8 9479 5386, fax +61 8 9475 0847 or email info@potashwest.com.au.