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Venture Minerals completes first commercial shipment from Riley Iron Ore Mine

Published: 12:05 17 Sep 2021 AEST

Chalice Mining Ltd - Venture Minerals completes first commercial shipment from Riley Iron Ore Mine
Iron ore from the Riley mine being loaded onto ship.

Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) has completed its first commercial shipment from Riley Iron Ore Mine in northwest Tasmania and will receive approximately A$5.1 million in the next two weeks.

This shipment of 45,632 tonnes of iron ore with an average grade of 57.3% Fe (iron) has departed the Port of Burnie and is bound for China.

The iron ore will be transported to a discharge port in China as designated by Venture’s offtake partner Prosperity Steel United Singapore Pte Ltd, one of the largest iron ore traders in the world.

“Significant milestone”

Venture Minerals’ managing director Andrew Radonjic said: “Our inaugural shipment marks a significant milestone for Venture Minerals and is the culmination of considerable efforts by all stakeholders to successfully establish a resource base, secure environmental and transportation approvals, processing plant construction, commencement of mining and ore hauling and now first commercial iron ore shipment.

“I would like to express my appreciation to the Federal, Tasmanian State and Local Governments for their continuing support and recognition of the Riley Iron Ore Project, as well as the company’s flagship Mount Lindsay Tin-Tungsten Project."

Truck being loaded at the Burnie Storage Facility.

Decline in prices

A decline in iron ore prices has seen the company temporarily suspend mining at Riley while it completes a full review of operations to identify cost efficiency measures to offset some of the external market volatility beyond the company’s control.

Recently, 62% Fe iron ore prices have declined significantly from highs of more than US$230 per tonne to the current price of US$106 per tonne.

This has coincided with an increase in the discount rate for Riley’s 57% Fe grade ore, from a market rate of 10% used in the 2019 Feasibility Study, to the current market rate of 30%.

Venture, together with the broader market, also continues to experience a volatile shipping market, largely due to congestion in Chinese Ports, together with COVID-19 and political impacts.

This has culminated in shipping rates tripling from US$18 per tonne since the Feasibility Study to around US$54 per tonne.

Review of operations

Although the company believes that some of the external market pressures will likely only be temporary, it believes the best course of action is to temporarily suspend mining operations to preserve the reserve base while it works through potential cost efficiencies and assesses the broader market volatility.

During this period Venture will retain the Riley Mining Team so that when market conditions improve, operations can recommence immediately.

Truck alongside ship ready to unload Riley Iron Ore.

Focus on Mt Lindsay

On the other hand, at the neighbouring Mount Lindsay Tin-Tungsten Project, higher tin prices and the recognition of tin as a fundamental metal to the battery revolution has refocused Venture’s approach to developing Mount Lindsay.

Already one of the world's largest undeveloped tin-tungsten deposits, Venture has commissioned an Underground Scoping Study on Mount Lindsay that will leverage off previously completed feasibility work.

“We are looking forward to ramping up our operations at Mount Lindsay with tin at record prices, so that we can continue to provide long-term employment in Tasmania’s Northwest; make significant contributions to Tasmania’s economy; and develop the Mount Lindsay ESG compliant EV Metal/Critical Minerals Tin-Tungsten mine,” Radonjic said.

“The mine will supply environmentally sustainable EV Metals/Critical Minerals in a globally recognised Tier One ESG hub, which provides superior environmental outcomes to the large majority of the world’s tin that is sourced from high-risk ESG jurisdictions.”

Western Australian projects

In Western Australia, Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN, OTCQB:CGMLF) recently committed to spend up to $3.7 million in Venture’s South West Project, to advance previous exploration completed by Venture to test a Julimar lookalike nickel-copper-PGE target.

At the company’s Golden Grove North Project, it has intersected up to 7% zinc, 1.3% copper and 2.1 g/t gold at Orcus and has identified several, strong EM conductors to be drill tested along the 5-kilometre-long VMS target zone, along strike to the world-class Golden Grove Zinc-Copper-Gold Mine.

Venture recently doubled the nickel-copper-PGE landholding at Kulin by securing two highly prospective 20-kilometre-long targets.

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