Name of the Project
Razorback iron-ore project.

Location
South Australia.

Project Owner/s
Magnetite Mines.

Project Description
A new prefeasibility study has shown the potential for the production of a superpremium, high-grade (67.5% to 68.5% iron) magnetite concentrate from the Razorback project.

The study confirms the opportunity to fast-track a high-return, long-life development of the large-scale resource at Razorback using a staged approach to produce an attractive concentrate.

The PFS is based on a robust 473-million-tonne ore reserve within a much larger resource of three-billion tonnes.

The base case envisages a 12.8-million-tonne-a-year plant, producing 1.9-million tonnes of superpremium concentrate. At an increased throughput of 15.5-million tonnes, production is estimated at 3.1-million tonnes a year.

The study has focused on using existing road, rail, port and utilities infrastructure in the region, and the immediate vicinity of the project, to ensure that capital expenditure requirements are kept to a minimum.

The project has an estimated 25-year mine life.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
In the long-life optimised case, the project has a net present value of A$669-million and an internal rate of return of 20%.

Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure is estimated at between A$572-million and A$675-million.

Planned Start/End Date
First shipment of premium concentrate is expected at the end of 2024.

Latest Developments
An expansion study into the Razorback iron-ore project has confirmed the benefits to Magnetite Mines.

The study evaluated an increase in production, from the initial three-million tonnes a year of iron-ore concentrates to seven-million tonnes a year, incorporating the addition of two processing plant modules to the first stage of development.

The single-step expansion case has produced an overall after-tax IRR of 27% and an NPV of A$2.4-billion on total development capital expenditure of A$1.9-billion at an iron-ore 62% iron reference price of $110/t, and an Australian/US exchange rate of 0.71.

“The definitive feasibility study (DFS) . . . under way has provided us [with] the confidence to formalise our options for the first stages of expansion at our Razorback iron-ore project. We are very excited by the results of this study work, which underpin our belief in the outstanding returns available from leveraging the benefits of scaling up our large resource in a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction with a supportive state government, access to abundant infrastructure and, importantly, low-cost renewable energy,” Magnetite Mines executive chairperson and CEO Peter Schubert has said.

“The expansion scenarios are extremely encouraging and confirm the potential for a very long-life mining operation supporting higher production rates and point to substantive increases in  . . . internal rate of return and net present value,  coupled with an equally substantive decrease to the project’s all-in 62% iron-ore breakeven price for the single-step expansion case to $40/t.”

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Magnetite Mines, tel +61 8 8427 0516.