World Titanium Resources.

Transcription

1 World Titanium Resources

2 2 AUSTRALIANS AT HOME AND ABROAD World Titanium Resources World Titaniu Madagascar in motion

3 JUNE 2012 The International Resource Journal AUSTRALIANS AT HOME AND ABROAD 3 m Resources 02

4 4 AUSTRALIANS AT HOME AND ABROAD World Titanium Resources Hot on the heels o Titanium Resourc Madagascar to de If there is one cer agascar, it s that it messages that chi to get across abou cent owned asset.

5 JUNE 2012 The International Resource Journal 5 f its ASX listing in January, World es has secured a mining licence in velop its world class mineral sands resource. tainty about the Toliara Sands Project in Madhas a great deposit. That is one of the priority ef executive Bruce Griffin wants to make sure t World Titanium Resources (WTR) 100 per

6 6 AUSTRALIANS AT HOME AND ABROAD World Titanium Resources BMT JFA Consultants (BMT JFA), provides specialised services for port and maritime developments. The services offered by BMT JFA include full project management, from conception to completion of marine/port, harbour and coastal projects. The company can act either as part of a team or can lead a team managing all aspects of a project from initial site investigations through to project design, construction, commissioning and maintenance. BMT JFA is part of the BMT Group, a leading international multi-disciplinary maritime engineering, science and technology consultancy providing a broad range of products and services across the energy and environment, defence, transport and risk and insurance sectors. BMT JFA are proud to be associated with World Titanium Resources development plans associated with the Toliara Mineral Sands project, where BMT JFA are providing port engineering services for the development of a marine export facility to support WTR s heavy metals mining and export operations. Following port concept engineering, BMT JFA are currently assisting with the collection of on-site data (including survey, geotechnical and wave and current data) to support the detailed design of the facility, as well as vessel simulation and value engineering studies. For further details, please see our website at: where you can learn more about our projects, key people and capabilities as well as client testimonials. If you have any current or future requirements for our services, please feel free to contact us. Phase 1 of the company s flagship Ranobe mine contains a JORC resource of 145 million tonnes (Mt) at an average grade of 8.1 per cent total heavy mineral (THM). Phase I is estimated to produce some 400,000t of ilmenite and 43,000 tonnes per year (t/y) of rutile/zircon concentrate over an initial 20-year mine life. But Griffin notes that the initial development phase represents a mere 20 per cent of the JORC resource at Ranobe, which is estimated at 707Mt with average grade at 6.5 per cent THM. Ranobe is one of those assets that it is quite hard to overplay how good it is in terms of resource quality, the total resource is in one deposit, it is not a whole series of deposits that we are calling one project. From a mining perspective, that is extremely attractive, says Griffin. In late April, the Madagascan government boosted the company s status by granting renewable 40-year mining licences for Phase I of the Ranobe mine development and for the area immediately south as well as a three-year renewal of the remainder of the exploration licence. The second permit covers an additional 140Mt of 7.1 per cent grade THM while the exploration licence references the remainder of the resource at Ranobe. Though the documents had been in the

7 JUNE 2012 The International Resource Journal 7 works for some two years, approvals still came in earlier than expected notes Griffin. That s to the credit of the new mines minister, Tolotrandry Rajo Daniella Randriafeno, who has established a process within the Ministry of Mines to ensure that paperwork is both moving forward and is presented by legitimate parties. In a country recently exiting from political turmoil like Madagascar, the task is a tall order. The company has been in the country for nearly 20 years now, so it has dealt with all that comes and goes and we have been working very closely with the new government, Griffin adds. The approvals also mean that WTR is on track for next steps such as raising development capital in the second half of the year followed by engineering, construction and commissioning before first production in Product placement The company s products are going to be a standard sulphate and chloride ilmenites as well as a non-magnetic zircon/rutile concentrate. The decision to wait and see on a zircon/rutile separation plant is part of an operational philosophy to keep things simple at the start, a philosophy that extends to product marketing. The titanium dioxide and feedstock market has behaved a bit like iron ore s in that buyers for C O A S T A L & ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LEADERS IN HEAVY MINERAL MINING ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES CES is a world leader in the assessment of environmental and social impacts, and the provision of environmental & social management (E&S) services to the minerals industry in Africa and Madagascar. We have completed twenty environmental assessments and have been involved in nine mineral mining projects in Africa. Our services range from pre-feasibility environmental assessments to on-site E&S management services. 67 African Street P.O. Box 934 Grahamstown, 6140 Tel: Fax: info@cesnet.co.za

8 8 AUSTRALIANS AT HOME AND ABROAD World Titanium Resources years had been able to dictate terms in a stable slow growing market. Suddenly, you had China to be a force in the industry. We are hesitant to be too aggressive with emerge as a major buyer and now consumers offtake agreements too soon. The industry used are motivated to sign long-term contracts without to be characterised by a need to secure fixed fixed prices with companies that have long term price offtake agreements in the early days of a assets because they want stability of supply, project but with the shift in the market it is less Griffin explains. risky to go closer to production without a contract China is a definite player in the market but in place, Griffin says, adding that WTR is consid- around half of the market for ilmenite is in the ering initial cornerstone customers to prepay for rest of the world, for example, WTR s second product in order to secure capital but are com- largest shareholder, Mineral Deposits has a 50 fortable with marketing parallel to construction. per cent interest in a smelter in Norway, Cristal Preparations for the drilling and pitting pro- Global is building a new smelter in the Kingdom grammes planned for the second half this year of Saudi Arabia and DuPont in the US continues are well advanced. The camp at Ranobe has

9 JUNE 2012 The International Resource Journal 9 been refurbished and trial mining equipment, such as front end loaders, was successfully sourced from within Madagascar. Meanwhile, applications for the environmental permit for the program and for the import permits for the pilot plant and drilling rigs have been submitted. The pitting program will focus on the mining area at Ranobe and will be used primarily for a confirmatory trial of the mining method selected in the engineering study. A bulk sample will also be collected and processed to confirm the selected flow sheet and to provide additional product samples for customer testing. And, if the engineering study shows it as a requirement, Ranobe s programme will incorporate in-fill drilling. A further exploration programme is planned in the northern Morombe deposit later in the year, which will follow-up on earlier sample results to determine economic mineralisation potential. Mine placement Ranobe has some inherent advantages for getting product out of the ground, namely that the mineral sands are unconsolidated, there is a low slimes content and no strip. At the same time Ranobe mine will be close to existing infrastructure. In ground values have been estimated at

10 10 AUSTRALIANS AT HOME AND ABROAD World Titanium Resources

11 JUNE 2012 The International Resource Journal 11 $19/t, compared to an average of between $12 and $13/t across the industry. Griffin emphasises however that these values will not be diminished as a result of strip ratio. Basically if we pick it up, it s got value in it, there is no inefficiency of moving barren material, Griffin says. And being close to existing infrastructure allows for simple mining and processing, though a definitive feasibility study (DFS) is yet to be completed. The DFS is anticipated mid this year and will detail best options for building the 50km road and plant placement as well as other optimal design factors. Still, some things won t change. The Ranobe site is just 50km from Toliara city, which has a port, airport, as well as a nascent tourism industry up the coast. And sourcing some construction materials and personnel locally and within Madagascar for WTR s building requirements is a distinct possibility. We have assessed local capabilities and have been quite encouraged, we have a natural source of building material in a limestone cliff near us and Malagasy contractors are used to building structures in the region with limestone, they know how to design and build a road using limestone, the best thing we can do is use construction materials that are available locally as much as we can, Griffin says. Other ways WTR is engaging locals is through its CSR programme. The company has supported Australian Doctors for Africa for about 10 years and installed foot pump water wells for several of the villages impacted by its operations. Our level of commitment and investment will increase as we get closer to a production decision but we have a strong relationship with the community we have had different leaders in those communities write to the minister of mines and prime minister in support of our licence, Griffin says. And the recent granting of those mining licences has been a major step towards derisking the project overall. What we have always been emphasising is that it is a large deposit, it is high grade, it is long life and we are taking the first steps in proving the value contained in all four deposits. That story remains true [the mining licences] are not the last approval we need, but it is a question of when, not if, Griffin says.

12 AS SEEN IN THE JUNE 2012 ISSUE OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESOURCE JOURNAL