Atlas
Ore Reserves
5.5 Million Tonnes at 9.2% HM
11.9% Zircon, 7.9% Rutile,
4.9% Leucoxene, 53% Ilmenite, 1.1% Monazite
Location
180km north of Perth
Expected Mine Life
2-3 years with potential to extend in this area
The Company’s next high-grade development project.
The Atlas Project is situated 180km north of Perth in Western Australia. Atlas is a shallow and high-grade mineral sands deposit with mineralisation from the surface to a depth of 16m. Average Ore Reserves grade is 9.2% HM and a combined high value zircon plus rutile at 19.8% of the HM. Average thickness of mineralisation is 3.5m with a maximum thickness of 12m.
Site construction and mining activities at Atlas are scheduled to commence in 2H CY2024, subject to final regulatory approvals. Project commissioning and first HMC production are anticipated at the end of December 2024.
Like Image’s successful Boonanarring project, operations at Atlas will continue under the simple business model of producing a high-quality heavy mineral concentrate (HMC), which will be marketed under the same market-based HMC offtake agreements as Boonanarring, including exporting through the port of Bunbury in WA. The expected mine-life for Atlas 2-3 years, with opportunities for extension through the development of further Mineral Resources in the area.
Approvals
The EPA advised of its intention to recommend the Atlas development proposal for implementation in March 2024 (subject to conditions as usual) and no appeals were lodged to the proposed conditions during a 3-week public review period in April 2024. Final Ministerial Approval and subsequent secondary project approvals are anticipated in Q2 2024. Commencement of construction is anticipated in Q3 2024, with commissioning and first production at the end of December 2024.
Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve
Atlas has estimated Mineral Resources of 17.3Mt at 5.7% heavy minerals (HM) with a mineral assemblage including 9.8% zircon, 6.5% rutile, 5.1% leucoxene and 49% ilmenite in the HM.
The estimated Ore Reserve is 5.5Mt at 9.2% HM with a mineral assemblage including 11.9% zircon, 7.9% rutile, 4.9% leucoxene and 53% ilmenite in the HM. The northern section of the Mineral Resource estimate was excluded from Ore Reserves due to the uncertainties of achieving environmental approvals in a timely fashion over the Mount Jetty and Bibby Creek lines, Aboriginal areas of cultural concern and areas of potential sensitive flora and fauna including native vegetation. The southern section of the Mineral Resources area has somewhat lower environmental sensitivities and is economically more robust due to higher HM grades and lower strip ratio.
The proposed development of Atlas consists of conventional ‘dry mining’ with a forecast processing rate of 2.6 million tonnes per annum. The wet concentrator plant (WCP) will employ traditional mineral sand gravity separation techniques, a process successfully utilised at Image’s Boonanarring operation. To reduce capital costs, existing processing equipment from Boonanarring will be relocated to the Atlas Project.
