Image Resources has posted a bumper year of sales from its mining operations in WA, with the mineral sands producer delivering over 310,000 tonnes of heavy mineral sands concentrates for the year. The solid production figures represent a 20 per cent jump in overall production from the previous year and an impressive $174 million in annual revenue.
The company also broke its all-time production record during the last quarter of 2020 after completing the sale of 110,000 tonnes of concentrate, as it continues to fine-tune production from its Boonanarring operation north of Perth.
Image has already received a request from off-take partner Natfort to purchase the entire production from the first quarter of 2021 and it has indicated that a number of potential new off-takers are showing increasing interest in the company’s heavy mineral concentrates, setting the scene for a solid run into the new year.
Image’s high-grade zircon-rich Boonanarring mineral sands operation is located just 80km north of Perth in Western Australia. The open pit mine and wet concentration plant was commissioned in 2018 and reached full production in only its second month of operation. The Boonanarring operation is one of the highest-grade zircon mines in Australia.
The company is continuing to develop the operation, with recent work including rehabilitation of mined out resource areas, a move to renewable energy sources and extensional drilling to prove up mineable reserves to extend the life of the operation.
Image has recently overseen the construction of a 3 Mega Watt solar farm adjacent to its wet plant at Boonanarring, with the utility being commissioned in the September 2020. The farm was constructed and is operated by Sunrise Energy Group, with Image utilising a “behind the meter” arrangement with Sunrise which results in solar power being utilised when available, displacing Alinta Energy’s grid supply. The operation began utilising the renewable power source in October and now receives over 25 per cent of its power requirements from the solar farm, adding to the company’s green credentials.
Drilling has also continued as part of the company’s Project MORE program. Exploration in close proximity to the Boonanarring plant has delineated extensive mineralisation along strike from the open pit operations, with the Boonanarring North and North-Western Extension areas coming under the spotlight whilst the Gingin North prospect also hosts a sizeable exploration target.
Image is now working towards resources over these new target areas, following extensive shallow aircore drilling. The company has flagged a total exploration target of 15 to 18 million tonnes across the three prospects and expects to return grades of 6 to 7 per cent heavy minerals.
Much of the drilling to complete the resource estimates for each of the targets has now been completed, however specific areas within each prospect may require additional sampling and infill drilling to complete the conversion to JORC standards. Image now expects to table an updated resource inventory for Boonanarring during the first quarter of 2021.
With the company’s development program in WA proceeding on schedule and the first quarter of production already locked away, Image has manoeuvred itself into a strong position and looks set for a solid run into the new year.
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