Name: Mt Cattlin mine.

Location: The Mt Cattlin mine is located about 2 km north of the town of Ravensthorpe, in Western Australia.

Controlling Company: Galaxy Resources.

Brief History: The Cattlin Creek pegmatites have been the subject of several drilling, sampling and metallurgical test campaigns, as well as feasibility studies dating back to the 1960s. From 1962 to 1966, Western Mining Corporation (WMC) carried out an extensive drilling programme and established a resource of ‘green’ and ‘white’ spodumene.

Extensive mineralogical and metallurgical testwork was carried out as part of this programme, culminating in WMC preparing an internal feasibility study on the mining and production of 10 000 t/y to 15 000 t/y of spodumene from the deposit on mining lease ML74/12. Since the 1960s, the tenements have been owned by several companies, all of which have viewed them as a prospective tantalite resource and conducted drilling and metallurgical testwork accordingly. Galaxy acquired ML74/12 from the Administrators of Sons of Gwalia in November 2006. In 2009, Galaxy began the construction of mining and plant facilities at the site and in June 2010 mining activities started.

Brief Description: At full capacity, the Mt Cattlin ore is processed at a rate of one-million tons a year, with a lithium oxide concentrate production of 137 000 t/y and 56 000 lb/y of contained tantalum.

Mining Method: Openpit.

Products: Pegmatite ore, processed on site to produce a spodumene concentrate and a tantalum by-product.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: Mining is carried out using excavator and truck operations, delivering to a conventional crushing and heavy-media separation (HMS) gravity recovery circuit. Contract mining is used for grade-control drilling and earthmoving operations (drilling, blasting, loading, hauling and ancillary work) for the opencut mining operation.

Geology/Mineralisation: The Mt Cattlin project is located in the Phillips river mineral field, within the Ravensthorpe Terrane, which forms part of the Archaean Ravensthorpe greenstone belt. The mineralisation of interest in the Mt Cattlin project resides in pegmatites.

The pegmatite in the Mt Cattlin project area contains a lithium-bearing mineral, called, spodumene, and secondary tantalite. The pegmatite body, hosting the tantalite – spodumene mineralisation occurs as a relatively flat sheet, varying in thickness from 1 m to 20 m.

The main pegmatite units drilled to date generally lie less than 30 m below the surface and outcrop in some locations. However, deeper zones of lithium mineralised pegmatites more than 130 m below the surface have also been intersected in the few deeper holes that have been drilled in some locations. The weathering profile is shallow, with fresh rock generally being encountered at depths of less than about 20 m

Reserves: Total proved and probable reserves as at September 2010 were 10.74-million tons, with a grade of 1.04% lithium oxide and 146 parts per million (ppm) tantalum oxide.

Resources: Total measured and indicated resources as at March 2011 were 12.81-million tons, with a grade of 1.09% lithium oxide, 163 ppm tantalum oxide and 87 ppm niobium pentoxide. Inferred resources were 4.35-million tons, with a grade of 1.07% lithium oxide, 132 ppm tantalum oxide and 91 ppm niobium pentoxide.

Prospects: The Galaxy Board reached a decision in March 2013 to halt production at Mt Cattlin, extending the temporary halt to operations announced in July 2012. Galaxy initially paused operations after improved spodumene production led to a 12-month build-up of feedstock for the Jiangsu plant. With the plant still in ramp-up phase, the temporary halt allowed for a reduction of spodumene stocks and an estimated A$4-million a month in cash outlays.

Mt Cattlin will remain ready to restart should Galaxy need to resume internal production and retain security of supply.

Contact Person: MD Iggy Tan.

Contact Details:
Galaxy Resources – Mt Cattlin operations, tel +61 8 9839 0300, fax +61 8 9839 0399, email ir@galaxylithium.com, and website http://www.galaxyresources.com.au

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