Magnetite Mines has boosted iron ore production at its Razorback mine to at least 5 million tonnes in step with a whopping 340 per cent ore reserves increase at its wholly owned South Australian project, sending the small capper’s stock surging after Australian markets opened on Monday morning.
With Razorback’s reserves at 1.6 billion tonnes, there is still more good news to come, it seems, with the likely addition of its recently upgraded Iron Peak deposit touted to potentially produce an extra 10 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore.
Magnetite CEO Tim Dobson claims clear sight to reigniting global markets hungry for fossil fuel lite premium grade concentrates.
After sinking close to a trading price of US$80/kg in November last year, the cost of iron ore has rebounded past US$130/kg in tune with a reopening Chinese economy. This mineral-devouring superpower reported its most significant imports to rise in a year.
Magnetite Chief Executive Tim Dobson said the company’s decision to increase production scale had spurred it to upgrade to an already-hefty Razorback estimate.
The updated Ore Reserves are classified as Probable and have been calculated using only the most accurate and highest-confidence project data available. With a mass recovery of 14.2%, these Ore Reserves would sustain operations at 5 million tonnes per year production for around 45 years,” he said.
“These outstanding optimisation study results highlight the exceptional value of our 100%-owned
Razorback Iron Ore Project and validate Magnetite Mine’s decision to incorporate market feedback into a larger, higher-value Stage 1 development scenario.”
He said the project is optimised on all fronts, headlined by the substantial and manageable stage 1 production scenario of five million tonnes annually.
“We are now prioritising the assessment of Iron Peak for Ore Reserves, enabling the completion of financial modelling for the new Project configuration and taking advantage of Iron Peak’s superior mass recovery and metallurgy.”
Dobson said Magnetite was creating an extraordinary opportunity, poised to capitalise on fast-growing momentum to green steel as regional steelmakers focus on supply from tier 1 jurisdictions like South Australia, boasting both renewable energy grids and an emerging green hydrogen industry.
“We are well positioned to now enter a final study phase and deliver a DFS based on a superior project design, which will generate significant, sustainable value for all shareholders.”
Meanwhile, South Australia is forging ahead on the future of national steel production.
