Heavy minerals resource boost for Image at WA project

Image Resources has upgraded its Bidaminna mineral sands project with a seven per cent increase in JORC resources to 109 million tonnes and a whopping 15 per cent increase in grade to 2.5 per cent total heavy minerals. The project’s total contained in-situ HM increased 23 per cent to 2.8 million tonnes over the March 2021 resource statement. Image’s wholly-owned Bidaminna project is located 120km north of Perth and forms part of the multi-decade mine life extensions to its existing Boonanarring mineral sands operation in the area.

Importantly, the confidence level of the Bidaminna mineral resource estimate has increased dramatically with 91 per cent now in the measured and indicated category.

Also, 86 million tonnes at 2.8 per cent total heavy metals resources at Bidaminna are now in the high confidence measured category out of the total 109 million tonnes resource. By contrast the March 2021 Bidaminna heavy minerals resource contained 82 per cent of resources in the much lower inferred category.

The percentage of valuable heavy minerals remains unchanged at 93 per cent of the total at Bidaminna. However, individual mineral percentages have changed with ilmenite rising to 72 per cent of the total heavy minerals, combined zircon and rutile dropped marginally to 8.9 per cent of the total and leucoxene fell to 12 per cent.

In respect to the mining features at Bidaminna the company says the ore testing showed very low slimes and oversized material. The project’s mineralisation occurs below the water table with suitable width and continuity to be amenable to dredge mining.

The mineral resource at Bidaminna is based upon a 0.5 per cent total heavy minerals cut-off grade. The latest figures include an additional 232 drill holes totalling 12,916m of drilling and 33 additional composite mineral assemblage samples over the March 2021 resource. The 2023 Bidaminna resource is based upon a total of 594 vertical RC drill holes for 31,233m of drilling and 18,096 assayed samples. The recent 33 mineral assemblage samples used in the resource supersede all previous mineral collection data for the project.

The 2023 mineral resource total heavy minerals grade was calculated using ordinary kriging and inverse distance cubed methods with parent blocks of 10m east by 50m north by 1m relative level with the resource meeting the JORC 2012 code.

In assessing the prospects for eventual economic extraction the company has assumed that dredge mining methods will be used in a similar fashion to those commonly and currently in use in other comparable mining operations both in Australia and globally.

Image believes the estimated Bidaminna HM resources have a “reasonable prospect” of eventual economic extraction given the project location and existing infrastructure in addition to taking into consideration the depth, thickness and grades of the deposit. The company says that there are no factors which are likely to impact on this assumption.

Its existing mineral sands operations near Bidaminna produced 177,200 tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate for the 2022 calendar year. In December 2022 the company announced an updated mineral resource for the high-grade Atlas heavy minerals deposit which is planned to be the next cab off the rank for Image.

Atlas has a resource of 5.5 million tonnes at 9.4 per cent total heavy minerals with mineral assemblages including 11.9 per cent zircon and 7.9 per cent rutile. The company is expected to be funded from cash flow and it held substantial cash resources of $53.5 million at the end of December. When Atlas comes into operation in 2024 the expected production increases to 200-240,000 tonnes per annum of heavy minerals concentrate.

Image’s deposits provide for a long mine life expectancy with over 6.3 billion tonnes of resources containing over 100 million tonnes of in-situ heavy minerals. The Bidaminna resource upgrade appears likely to add to a large resource already in its kit bag.

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