Iron ore weakness to continue into 2025 and beyond, says Fitch Solutions’ BMI
Looking beyond 2024-2025, BMI analysts maintained their view that iron ore prices will likely follow a multi-year downtrend.
Highlights
Havilah Resources Limited (“Havilah” or “Company”) is pleased to report that systematic mining of gold ore has commenced at the Portia gold mine, northeast of Broken Hill. This important milestone was achieved three and a half months earlier than originally scheduled, due to a recent redesign of the mining plan. By the end of this week it is expected that several thousand tonnes of high grade ore will have been mined and stockpiled on the ore pad adjacent to the processing plant. Construction of the processing plant is progressing as planned and at this stage is expected to be commissioned by the middle of April.
Since commencement of mining operations on 30 March 2015, Havilah’s mining contracting partner, Consolidated Mining & Civil Pty Ltd (“CMC”) has removed more than 70 metres of overburden and last week mined to within 5 metres of the high grade ore horizon. Havilah drilled 13 holes from this temporary pit floor in order to accurately determine the top and bottom of the high grade ore surface. This information was then entered into the GPS controller on the 120 tonne excavator that allows the operator to mine the high grade ore horizon with some precision, resulting in minimal dilution from lower grade material above and below. Given the potential value of the high grade ore, Havilah’s geologists are continually monitoring the mining to ensure it remains on track and that each truck load of ore material is delivered to the correct location on the stockpile.
Commenting on achievement of this milestone, Havilah’s Managing Director, Dr Chris Giles, said: “It is pleasing to note that in spite of the numerous challenges presented by the soft clay overburden and ongoing dewatering requirements, mining of the Portia open pit has largely gone according to plan and the ore zone is as expected, which augers well for the remainder of the mining operation.
“Our next major milestone will be commencement of processing of the stockpiled ore, which we expect to achieve during April once construction and commissioning of the processing plant is completed” he said.
2m thick high grade ore zone (the grey clay in front of the excavator bucket) being exposed in the floor of the Portia open pit. This is overlain by lower grade pinkish clay. The mining objective is to selectively mine these two ore types and stockpile them separately on the ore pad ready for processing.
Steve Radford, principal of CMC and Chris Giles, Managing Director of Havilah, pause to congratulate each other on the joint achievement of mining the first high grade ore (grey clay) from the Portia open pit, some 75 metres below the surface.
