Estrella Resources has secured a critical export authorisation from the Government of Timor-Leste to export a 27,000-tonne bulk sample from its Ira Miri manganese project. The key approval clears the path for the company to prepare its first major sea-borne shipment from the nation's Tenu Port Facility.
The government nod marks a significant milestone in the company’s market appraisal program, allowing it to move the manganese parcel from extraction and stockpiling towards sale and export.
With the green light now received, Estrella says it will finalise binding sales terms and the necessary shipment arrangements. The company previously said execution of a sale agreement was conditional on receiving export approval.
On-ground logistics are already underway, with causeway construction at Tenu Port enabling the manganese sample to be transferred to a barge and then to a ship for sea-borne transport. Meanwhile, the sample parcel is moving from the project stockpile to the port’s loading area, where it will be held until the causeway is complete and ready for shipping.
The bulk sample program represents a crucial de-risking step for Estrella's manganese project, giving prospective international buyers an opportunity to provide feedback on product quality and commercial performance. At the same time, it will allow the company to trial the export process and determine the practical delivery requirements for any potential longer-term supply.
The outcome is expected to help management assess Ira Miri's commercial potential and support its work towards a Category A Mining Licence which is required for any future full-scale development.
Estrella Resources managing director Robert Mencel said: “This approval is an important step towards putting Ira Miri manganese into customers' hands. We have extracted the bulk sample and progressed the customer selection process. Our focus now is on completing the commercial and logistics arrangements needed to deliver it.”
The company extracted the manganese bulk sample from a pit target that targeted historical high-grade intercepts, including a notable 8.05 assaying 53 per cent manganese. Estrella's stated objective is to ultimately outline a JORC-compliant manganese resource of more than two million tonnes at Ira Miri.
The sea-borne shipment approval follows a separate, previously announced authorisation for a smaller 100-tonne trial parcel of high-grade manganese, transported overland to a customer in West Timor, Indonesia, for use as trial feed in a smelter.
While the manganese project is progressing towards potential early cash flow, Estrella is also developing an intriguing mixed portfolio of other assets in what it has often described as the “virtually unexplored region” of Timor-Leste.
The company recently tabled a massive maiden JORC-compliant inferred mineral limestone resource of 621 million tonnes for its Werumata project in the country's northeast coastal region, with a scoping study now being finalised.
Additionally, Estrella is pursuing copper and gold discoveries in country, having recently been awarded two new 50-square-kilometre exploration licences prospective for the precious and base metals. A 3000-metre drilling program was slated to test geophysical targets defined within large fault zones that management believes could prove prospective for orogenic-style gold mineralisation.
With the key export authorisation for its manganese now in hand, Estrella’s focus is shifting from navigating government processes to commercial execution. Finalising its sales terms and orchestrating the logistics of a maiden bulk shipment will be the next hurdles.
If the market appraisal of its manganese bulk sample is well received, it could go a long way to providing Estrella with a valuable proof-of-concept for its longer-term Timor-Leste manganese ambitions.
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