IMX achieves 500kt milestone
THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Australian junior iron ore play IMX Resources has reached a shipping milestone at its Cairn Hill mine located south east of Coober Pedy in South Australia.
The loading of the Star of Abu Dhabi in Port Adelaide brought the total ore shipped to date by IMX Resources to 500,000 tonnes of ore from the Cairn Hill mine since the commencement of shipping operations in December 2010.
The ore is from the first phase of the Cairn Hill operation, which is expected to deliver 7.9 million tonnes from two pits, generating approximately $250 million of revenue per annum at current prices.
IMX transports the crushed ore via a dedicated haul road to a rail siding at Rankin Dam on the Tarcoola-Darwin railway line for loading onto trains for export through Port Adelaide.
As the Cairn Hill project has ramped up, unit costs have reduced with May costs running at $84.50 per tonne FOB.
IMX expects to further reduce costs as the project’s operations are optimised.
The company has also commissioned of a 66-person accommodation village in Coober Pedy for mining personnel and introduced a Coober Pedy Living Allowance.
The allowance roughly equates to an additional $10,000 per year, encouraging employees of both IMX and our mining contractor, Exact Mining Services, to settle in the Coober Pedy community.
The Cairn Hill project employs about 200 South Australians through the mine, road and rail haulage and port operations.
The accommodation village has been built in Coober Pedy to support the local community, some of whom will be employed for catering and housekeeping services. The village accommodates the mine’s fly-in, fly-out staff.
“IMX Resources is very keen to support the population of Coober Pedy,” IMX Resources managing director Duncan McBain said in the company’s ASX announcement.
“That’s why we have employed locally where we can, why we support local sport, education, opal mining and health activities and why we established the Coober Pedy Living Allowance.”
McBain went on to say the mine was achieving all set targets, including loading six trains per week and setting new crushing records.
The company is now exporting two ships per month, approximately 145,000 tonnes.
The 500,000t milestone has been made up of seven shipments of Cairn Hill ore, three of which have set new Port Adelaide cargo records with the current record being a cargo of 78,765t.
Development work for Phase II of the project is currently proceeding as planned.
“Design work for the dry magnetic separation plant is well advanced and mine planning is about to commence,” McBain said.
“The logistics for the transport and export of the ore are mainly in place and the work has commenced for the modification of the existing Mining and Rehabilitation Plan. “