PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior BCI Minerals has secured a new tenement area adjacent to its Mardie salt and potash project, in Western Australia.
BCI Minerals on Friday announced that it would pay owner Leichhardt Industrials A$3.5-million in cash on the completion of the tenement right acquisition.
For a period of 12 months, the junior company will have a call option, and Leichhardt will have a put option on rights to the remaining northern tenement area. BCI will pay a further A$2.5-million in cash to Leichhardt upon the option being exercised by either party.
A set of documents and reports relating to the environmental and technical work undertaken by BCI in the area of the proposed Cape Preston East port will be transferred to Leichhart at the completion of the transaction.
BCI told shareholders that the new tenement would add 112 km2 of coastal tenements to the Mardi project, including a significant area of mudflats suitable for evaporation ponds and crystallisers. This would provide optionality for future layout optimisation and expansion to larger than 5.5-million tonnes of salt and 150 000 t/y of sulphate of potash, making Mardie the largest salt operation in Australia and one of the largest evaporation salt operations globally.
The ASX-listed junior is continuing to progress designs and approvals for the current project footprint, with the definitive feasibility study on schedule for completion in June this year.