Name and Location
Keysbrook mineral sands project, Australia.

Client
MZI Resources.

Project Description
A feasibility study completed on the Keysbrook project, in Western Australia, has shown very strong economics.

The project comprises heavy mineral sands contained in degraded dunes within the Bassendean formation and is characterised by its high leucoxene content. Once in operation, it will be one of the world’s largest producers of premium leucoxene 88 product.

The project will entail the development of an estimated 4.5-million-dry-ton-a-year sand-mining operation using an excavator and truck method. The orebody is at surface and averages 2.2 m in thickness across a total mining area of about 12 km2.

A wet excavation plant, located on site, will process the ore using gravity separation to produce, on average, about 110 000 t/y of dry heavy metal concentrate (HMC), grading 85% heavy minerals.

HMC will be transported by road to Picton, 120 km south of the mine site, where it will be processed through a secondary mineral separation plant. The toll treating process will produce three products – leucoxene 70 (L70), containing 70% titanium dioxide; leucoxene 88 (L88), containing 88% titanium dioxide and zircon concentrate, consisting of 56% zircon, 3% L70 and 11% L88.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
MZI Resources secured $64-million in debt facilities for the Keysbrook project in May 2014.

Duration
Subject to the MZI board granting a final investment decision, construction is likely to start in July or August with the first production scheduled for mid-2015.

Latest Developments
MZI has reported that it is on schedule to ship the first batch of saleable product from its Keysbrook mineral sands project in early 2016.

The company will start commissioning the project in November this year.

Construction of the project is 65% complete and the wet concentration facility is being errected.

All major earth works and civil works have been completed and the process water dams have been completed and lined. All the spiral banks, which are the primary separation equipment for the heavy minerals, have been delivered to the site and are awaiting installation, which will be completed over the next two months.

The mining feed unit, which will pump slurried ore from the mining area to the wet concentration plant, is being fabricated and trial assembly is planned for July. This will take place prior to its delivery at site.

Further, the installation of coronastats, which are the primary separation equipment for Keysbrook’s L88 product, has started in the new annex at MZI’s strategic partner Doral Mineral Sands’ mineral processing plant.

MZI has noted that equipment installation is proceeding in parallel with structural steel construction to provide maximum efficiency.

Further, the company has said that, with the majority of the operations’ professional and supervisory roles having been filled, interviews have started to recruit the Keysbrook mobile equipment and fixed plant operator, as well as maintenance technicians.

MZI has emphasised that the majority of Keysbrook employees will be recruited from residents of the local communities surrounding the mine.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
GR Engineering Services (EPC).

On Budget and on Time?
The Keysbrook project is two-thirds complete and continues to progress on budget and on schedule.

Contact Details for Project Information
Read Corporate on behalf of MZI, Paul Armstrong, tel +61 8 9388 1474, fax +61 8 9388 1472 or email info@readcorporate.com.au.
GR Engineering Services, tel +61 8 6272 6000, fax +61 8 6272 6001 or email gres@gres.com.au.