Name of the Project
Hawsons Iron project.

Location
Near Broken Hill, in New South Wales, Australia.

Project Owner/s
Hawsons Iron, formerly Carpentaria Resources.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study has shown robust economics for the production of ten-million tonnes a year of Hawson’s Supergrade, with a product specification of 69.9% iron for a mine life of 20 years. The ore is to be mined and processed on site, with the final mineral concentrate being transported by slurry pipeline to a rail head site near Broken Hill.

The truck-and-shovel mining method will be used for prestripping and the early mine plan, while in-pit conveying will be used from Year 5 once meaningful depths have been reached. The plan is to use the conveyor for the vertical lift and the trucks for horizontal movement, maximising the use of comparatively cheap electrical power, reducing truck hours and improving safety.

Following a prestrip of about 150-million tonnes, the life-of-mine waste:ore ratio is 0.40, dropping to near zero by Year 11.

A total of 1.41-billion tonnes of ore and 568-million tonnes of waste are mined after prestripping. A maximum mining rate of 152-million tonnes a year is expected to be achieved in Year 7. All major processing will occur in the magnetite concentrator at the mine site before transporting the concentrate in slurry from the railhead for dewatering.  Tailings will be thickened and pumped to a circular tailings storage facility (TSF), and single-cell and perimeter discharge will be used.

Potential Job Creation
Hawsons is expected to create more than 1 200 jobs in construction and 500 jobs in steady-state production.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a post-tax-geared net present value (NPV), at a 10% discount rate, of $1.09-billion and an internal rate of return of 30%.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction costs have been estimated at $1.4-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Hawsons Iron has appointed engineering firm Stantec Australia to conduct a review of the current process plant design and supporting infrastructure.

The optimisation phase is an integral part of simplifying the flowsheet of the project. This will, in turn, allow for lower capital and operating costs while improving environmental aspects of the project, Hawson Iron CEO Tom Revy has said.

The study is expected to be completed in October.

The company continues to investigate the potential to viably extract by-products from the tailings stream before depositing it into the TSF. This work is likely to continue until the end of the year and has the potential to materially improve the project’s financial return for shareholders.

In addition, the budget for completing the definitive feasibility study is also under review, as several areas are likely to result in a decrease to initial cost estimates. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Stantec Australia (review of current process plant design and supporting infrastructure).

Contact Details for Project Information
Hawsons Iron, tel +61 7 3220 2022.