MOUNT Gibson Iron Ore has commenced mining operations at its new iron ore mine at Tallering Peak.
Operations will move to a double shift at the end of November after which production is planned at 1.6 million tonnes per annum of direct shipping grade hematite ore.
Railing of the ore is expected to commence in mid January with the first shipment to Glencore’s iron making plant in Nanjing, China scheduled for the end of January.
Dredging of Geraldton Harbour to accommodate 60,000-tonne Panamax vessels is expected to be completed next month as are the company’s storage facilities at the port.
Mount Gibson Iron Limited managing director Brian Johnson said the company had pre-sold the production for the life of the mine, which is expected to be eight to 10 years and was now focusing on developing its second mine at Mt Gibson.
The company also concluded a placement of 18.8 million shares to Sinom (Hong Kong) Limited at 17 cents a share, following the receipt of $3,196,000.
Mr Johnson said the funds would be applied primarily to predevelopment costs associated with the Mt Gibson hematite project.