Name of the Project
Hawsons iron project.

Location
The project is located near Broken Hill, in New South Wales, Australia.

Client
Carpentaria Exploration.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study has shown the project has robust economics for the production of ten-million tonnes a year of Hawson’s Supergrade, with a product specification of 69.9% iron for a mine life of 20 years. The ore is to be mined and processed on site, with the final mineral concentrate being transported by slurry pipeline to a rail head site near Broken Hill.

The truck-and-shovel mining method will be used for prestripping and the early mine plan, while in-pit conveying (IPC) will be used in Year 5 once meaningful depths have been reached. The plan is to use the conveyor for the vertical lift and the trucks for horizontal movement, maximising the use of comparatively cheap electrical power, reducing truck hours and improving safety.

Following a prestrip of about 150-million tonnes, the life-of-mine waste:ore ratio is 0.40, dropping to near zero by Year 11.

A total of 1.41-billion tonnes of ore and 568-million tonnes of waste are mined after prestripping. A maximum mining rate of 152-million tonnes a year is expected to be achieved in Year 7. All major processing will occur in the magnetite concentrator at the mine site before transporting the concentrate in slurry form to the railhead for dewatering. Tailings will be thickened and pumped to a circular tailings storage facility, and single-cell and perimeter discharge will be used.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a post-tax geared net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $1.09-billion and an internal rate of return of 17.8%.

Value
Preproduction costs have been estimated at $1.4-billion.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Carpentaria Resources has reached an agreement with Mitsui & Co that will advance the development of the Hawsons iron project.

The Japanese trading house will contribute A$5.4-million towards the cost of a bankable feasibility study, which is estimated to cost about A$27-million, for an option over two-million tonnes a year of the Hawsons super-grade product, for a 20-year period.

Mitsui could exercise the offtake option by contributing $60-million to the Hawsons construction funding.

Carpentaria MD Quentin Hill has said that the Mitsui financing, which provided a nondilutive option for shareholders, was a major vote of confidence in the Hawsons project, as a high-quality iron-ore concentrate/pellet feed project.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Carpentaria Exploration, tel +61 7 3220 2022 or email info@capex.net.au.