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FLOATING FORTUNES
IAN FINCH
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
IRONCLAD MINING LTD
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The establishment of our state-of-the-art floating harbour
and SEATS’ multi-user port facility are testament to what can
be achieved when innovative people put their heads together
to solve an issue. It is an innovative solution to an ambitious
mining project, which has already culminated in the sale
of the first two years of production from stage one of the
project secured under a comprehensive sales contract and
marketing agreement.
IronClad previously announced plans to transport iron ore
from the mine site via road to a site near Whyalla, where it was
to be loaded onto rail to Port Adelaide, before being transferred
to Panamax and small cape size vessels.
The multi-user bulk shipping port facility now allows us to
transport our iron ore by road from Wilcherry Hill to the site,
where it will be loaded onto customised barges to transport the
ore to the floating harbour. It will then be transferred to cape
size ships docked alongside.
This option will reduce the land transport distance
from Wilcherry Hill to port from 520 kilometres to only
154 kilometres. Crucially, we expect to reduce operating costs
significantly as a result of the shortened transport distance.
Our Wilcherry Hill iron ore project – an 80:20 Joint Venture
between our company and our associated company, Trafford
Resources – remains on target to commence production towards
the end of the year with first shipments leaving Lucky Bay in
the first quarter of 2012.
At time of publication, we are awaiting South Australian
government approval of our comprehensive Mining Lease
Proposal (MLP), which we prepared in conjunction with
Coffey Environments. Immediately thereafter, we will submit
our Mining and Rehabilitation Program (MARP) to the SA
government for approval – a process that is expected to take
about two to three months.
But IronClad has not been idle. We recently completed
work on the accommodation village in Kimba, with initial
accommodation planned for 40 workers, and the potential for
the site to be expanded to house up to 80 workers.
A feasibility study we completed late last year for stage
one of the project established that, with an average iron ore
price of A$140 per tonne FOB (net of freight charges) into
China and initial operating costs of around A$85 per tonne,
ronClad Mining’s emerging iron ore mine,
located on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, is
attracting worldwide attention.
The company’s Wilcherry Hill iron ore
project remains on target to produce its first
shipment of Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) for sale to Chinese steel
mills in the first quarter of 2012.
One of the reasons our development is attracting
international interest is due to the unique concept we have
embraced to export our ore – a South Australian “first” multi-
user bulk shipping port facility with a floating harbour.
IronClad has signed an agreement with Sea Transport
Development SA Pty Ltd (SEATS), the proponents of the
port facility at Lucky Bay, near Cowell, on South Australia’s
Spencer Gulf.
We will use the unique facility to ship iron ore from a holding
warehouse at an onshore site, to a floating harbour about 5 to 10
kilometres offshore, which IronClad will finance and develop.
Cape-sized vessels with a capacity of up to 150,000 tonnes will
then be loaded with iron ore from the floating harbour.
We have been overwhelmed at the interest our project has
attracted, not just for the demand for our ore, but also our
floating harbour concept.
I