Name: Grande Côte mine.

Location: The Grand Côte mine is located on a coastal, mobile dune system starting about 50 km north of Senegal’s capital Dakar.

Controlling Company: Mineral Deposits Limited’s (MDL’s) interest in the Grande Côte mine project is held by Grande Côte Operations, a Senegalese registered company that is owned indirectly by Mineral Deposits (90%) and directly by the government of Senegal (10% noncontributory interest).

Brief History: In September 2004, MDL was selected by the government of Senegal to develop the Grande Côte project. Under government’s mining convention, MDL acquired the rights to explore and develop the project, which had been previously held by DuPont. In November 2007, the Presidential Decree, granting the Mining Concession for Grande Côte, was issued to MDL. Construction of the mine is under way and production is expected to start late in 2013.

Brief Description: The Grande Côte mine project is one of only a few major new projects worldwide that is set to take advantage of the supply-constrained mineral sands sector.

Mining Method: Floating cutter section dredging operation.

Products: Zircon, ilmenite, rutile and leucoxene.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: The heavy minerals (HMs) will be processed in a floating concentrator, featuring banks of gravity-fed high- capacity spirals, followed by a land-based minerals separation plant, which includes a wet high-intensity magnetic separation plant, a zircon wet and dry plant, as well as an ilmenite plant.

Ilmenite will be transported in bulk by road to a railhead 25 km from the mineral separation plant site and then by rail to the Port of Dakar. Zircon, rutile and leucoxene will be trans- ported 125 km by road in shipping containers to the port.

The mine site includes site buildings and storage facilities; a power station and a liquid-fuel storage facility, information and communications technology as well as rail wagon and shiploading facilities.

Geology/Mineralisation: The main HM deposits identified to date are Diogo, Mboro, Fass Boye and Lompoul. The dunes and the underlying marine sands contain HMs, principally ilmenite with accessory zircon, rutile and leucoxene. Zircon and ilmenite are the main commodities of interest.

Reserves: Total proven and probable reserves as at June 16, 2010, were 751-million tonnes, grading 1.8% HMs.

Resources: Total measured and indicated resources as at June 16, 2010, were 1.03-billion tonnes, grading 1.7% HMs.

The current resource estimate covers about 50% of the mining concession.

Prospects: Commissioning of the wet concentrator and the minerals separation plant is scheduled for the March quarter of 2014.

Contact Person: MD Rick Sharp.

Contact Details:
Mineral Deposits Limited, tel +61 3 9618 2500, fax +61 3 9621 1460, email rick.sharp@mineraldeposits.com.au, and website http://www.mineraldeposits.com.au/contact-us/

.