Mid West iron ore miner Fenix Resources’ flagship mine has more than doubled in size in a move which should breathe years of extra life into the high-grade deposit.
Mid West iron ore miner Fenix Resources’ flagship mine has more than doubled in size in a move which could keep the high-grade deposit operational into the mid-2030s.
The Iron Ridge project’s mineral resource on Thursday was boosted 177 per cent to 13.4 million tonnes at an average 64.9 per cent iron ore grade.
The bolstered resource would extend the life of Iron Ridge by about six years based on the current 1.4-million-tonne-per-annum mine depletion rate.
Some 5.7 million tonnes of ore have been mined from the orebody since 2019, representing more than half of the initial 10.8mt resource.
The updated resource and further exploration targets are expected to be included in an updated Iron Ridge mine plan next year.
Fenix executive chairman John Welborn said maintaining the high-grade status of Iron Ridge was crucial for the miner.
“The success of our recent exploration program has significantly improved our understanding of the deposit and the addition of more than eight million tonnes of high-grade iron ore to our mineral resource estimate provides a strong foundation for future growth,” he said.
“Fenix is committed to unlocking the full potential of the remarkable Iron Ridge ore body and we are confident in our ability to continue our strong mining and operational performance while respecting and preserving important heritage areas.”
Mr Welborn said Fenix was scouring more expansion opportunities.
The expanded mineral resource comes one week after Fenix extended its iron ore hedge book to June next year at an average A$152-per-tonne, about US$98/tonne on Thursday.
The new contracts add 120,000 tonnes of ore to Fenix’ existing 220,000-tonne hedge book at A$151/tonne.
Fenix’ mines and deposits are situated inland from Geraldton, and the company has 400,000 tonnes of storage space and capacity to export more than 5mtpa at the Mid West city’s port.
The company exported 1.4 million tonnes of ore last financial year but plans to grow that to 4mpta this financial year through resumption of mining at its Shine project and new production from the Beebyn-W11 deposit.
That increase would make Fenix WA’s eighth largest iron ore miner, leapfrogging Mount Gibson Iron.
