Cadence Minerals plc (LON/NEX: KDNC; OTC: KDNCY) notes that Macarthur Minerals (TSX-V: MMS) (ASX: MIO) continues its progress towards a route to market for its flagship Moonshine magnetite deposits at Lake Giles, targeting a +65% Fe beneficiated magnetite concentrate, with the engagement of RCR Mining Technologies Pty Ltd to provide a conceptual engineering and design solution for rail transport and unloading infrastructure of magnetite concentrate at the Port of Esperance. RCR MT has been engaged to examine the potential to use cutting-edge rail unloading technology that has been successfully used in Scandinavian magnetite operations for several years.
The engineering concept will employ a ‘Helix Dumper’ unloading system and Helix Dumper wagons owned and developed by Kiruna Wagon in Sweden. The Kiruna Wagon system has been successfully utilised in transporting magnetite concentrate from northern Sweden to the Port of Narvik in Norway. The system was developed specifically for magnetite concentrates to provide efficient discharge of sticky product at rates up to 25,000 tonnes per hour, and provides the potential to optimise productivity with several advantages over conventional rotary car dumpers, such as:
· Lightweight wagons, increasing gross payload;
· High-capacity continuous discharge, reducing operating costs;
· The potential for lower capital cost;
· The potential for lower operating cost with unloading powered only by the locomotive’s forward motion; and
· Wagon body shape optimised for wet concentrates.
Macarthur is currently working with Southern Ports Authority on the potential to develop this system at the Port of Esperance, in addition to negotiating access to develop a storage shed for its magnetite concentrate.
If constructed, the system will be capable of handling tonnages well in excess of Macarthur’s immediate requirements for stage 1 of its Lake Giles Iron Project, providing the potential for increased trade through Esperance, subject to capacity elsewhere within the Port. Macarthur intends to work collaboratively with the Port to ensure that the footprint of the system and associated conveyor infrastructure (which would feed directly into the storage shed) can work in with existing operations at the Port and without adversely affecting other users.
RCR MT is a subsidiary of ASX listed NRW Holdings (ASX: NWH), a leading provider of diversified services to the mining, energy and civil infrastructure sectors. RCR MT is a market leader in the design and manufacture of an extensive range of surface and bulk materials handling equipment with a reputation for delivering high quality mining technologies nationally and internationally. RCR MT holds an exclusive license to develop the Helix system in Australia and in combination with Kiruna Wagon have the ability to manufacture both the dumper and wagons in Western Australia.
Macarthur’s route to market progress:
The Company announced on 25 June 2020 details of applications lodged for haul road and rail loading tenure which maps out a solution to transport magnetite from site to the existing rail network that connects to the Port of Esperance.
The Company announced on 15 July 2020 it had received a Proposal for development of a Commercial Track Access Agreement from Arc Infrastructure, the owner of the below-rail network
Macarthur President and Executive Chairman Cameron McCall commented: “This is another positive step forward for Macarthur’s Lake Giles Iron Project and demonstrates the tenacity with which Management is progressing this essential component of project delivery. The Company’s recent announcements concerning its applications to develop haul road and rail siding infrastructure near Lake Giles and that the Company had received a Proposal for development of a Commercial Track Access Agreement from Arc Infrastructure means that the Company is now edging closer than ever to delivering its route-to-market solution and making this Project real for shareholders.
With this new cutting-edge rail unloading technology having the potential to contribute to increased trade through Esperance Port, this can only be good for future economic growth and job security in the region. Macarthur welcomes the opportunity to be part of that story and to contribute a positive legacy for the State of Western Australia and workers in the Goldfields region.”
Cadence Minerals Holding in Macarthur
Cadence holds approximately 2.7 % of the issued equity interest in Macarthur, which is an Australian mining exploration company focused primarily on iron ore, nickel, lithium and gold in Western Australia. It also has a lithium project in Nevada, USA.
