Strandline's zircon push

Strandline Resources is scouting for partners to develop its $173 million zircon-rich Coburn project 250 kilometres north of Geraldton.

Strandline, which owns 100 per cent of Coburn, announced today a funding and development strategy aimed at bringing its Coburn mineral sands project into production. As well as zircon, the resource contains ilmenite, rutile and leucoxene.

One option Strandline is pursuing is the formation of a special-purpose vehicle with well-funded parties to oversee the funding, development and operation of Coburn.

Strandline managing director Luke Graham said the recovery in the mineral sands market made it an opportune time to push the project forward, and the definitive feasibility study showed the mine would generate strong returns.

“We believe these returns can be further enhanced by fine-tuning the project and taking advantage of recent technology advances, alternative contracting strategies and forecast gains in mineral sands prices,” he said.

The company has reviewed and confirmed a 2015 cost estimate of $173 million.  

The company said the project was fully approved and ready for development, with all mining and environmental approvals in place.

Native title agreements are in place in the south of the project area, which provides the first 14-15 years of reserves.

Strandline had been on track to develop the project with South Korean steel producer POSCO, but joint venture negotiations broke down in 2013 when the price of zircon fell.

Strandline has also just completed a definitive feasibility study for its Fungoni mineral sands project in Tanzania.

Shares in Strandline were unchanged at 0.5 cents at 11am today.