The report coincided with a further upgrade in the project's resources.

Recent drilling has lifted the inferred and indicated resources to 65.6 million tonnes at 3.3% heavy mineral from 43.9Mt of 3.35%.

"The review by Snowden Mining Industry Consultants of the project's preliminary mining and processing assumptions and estimates, and the subsequent completion of a first-stage feasibility study has reinforced Mindarie's strong commercial profile," managing director Chris Neal said.

"We can now accelerate completion of a full bankable feasibility study on Mindarie so that a decision about mining for this project can be made around the middle of next year as planned."

The feasibility study forecast EBDIT surpluses over operating costs of $13 million in the project's first year of mining, rising to $17 million for each of years two and three and $14 million in year four.

The projections are based on a concentrator throughput of 6Mt a year and a current high grade mineral inventory, after allowing for mining losses and dilution, of 32.8Mt of 4.2% heavy mineral.

Mining will involve the construction of a combined dry mining and wet plant facility which will closely follow the mining face as it progresses an average of 12km a year along the strandlines to be developed.

Heavy mineral concentrates will then be trucked from the mobile wet plant to a fixed dry plant to be established at a yet to be determined site within the local region.

Neal said the study envisaged a production of saleable mineral products from Mindarie of about 37,000t per annum of zircon, 1700tpa of rutile, 15,000tpa of leucoxene (HiTi) and 86,000tpa of ilmenite.

Murray Basin Minerals shares closed 1.5c weaker at 22c.

 

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