Strandline appoints Primero to build the processing facilities of its Coburn mineral sands project in WA
Conceptual 3D-image of Coburn’s WCP and MSP process infrastructure. (Credit: Strandline Resources Limited.)
Strandline Resources Limited (ASX: STA) is pleased to announce that final preparations for construction of its flagship Coburn mineral sands project in WA are advancing, with the appointment of Primero to design and build the core processing plant infrastructure.
The contract covers the engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and performance testing of the Wet Concentration Plant (WCP), Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) and associated processing circuits.
Primero, a subsidiary of NRW Holdings Group, is a proven EPC contractor with expertise in engineering and delivery of advanced mineral processing facilities. Primero will work with specialist minerals sands engineer Mineral Technologies (a subsidiary of Downer Group) under a subcontract arrangement, integrating design and processing technology to deliver the turn-key solution.
The contract is based on a fixed price EPC commercial model and is in accordance with Strandline’s contracting
strategy and key assumptions contained in the DFS published in June 2020.
This appointment follows completion of the funding required to develop Coburn through to production and cashflow. The funding structure includes debt financing from the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) and the Bond loan facility, together with equity proceeds as announced on 31 March 2021.
The Coburn WCP is designed to beneficiate heavy minerals (ilmenite, leucoxene, rutile, zircon and monazite) and reject the non-valuable, lighter minerals through multiple stages of high-capacity gravity separation and classification. The rich Heavy Mineral Concentrate (HMC) produced from the WCP will be transported to the MSP and stockpiled ready for further processing. The WCP infrastructure is relocatable and is planned to be moved several times during the mine life as the mine advances along the orebody.
The MSP design comprises conventional electrostatic separation, gravity and magnetic fractionation to recover a range of premium-quality final products, including chloride ilmenite, rutile, premium zircon and zircon concentrate.
The Company has binding offtake contracts in place for ~95% of Coburn’s forecast mineral sands production over the first five-years of operation.
The parties are now completing preparations for commencement of works under contract, targeting to achieve first ore through the WCP ~18 months from commencement.
Strandline Managing Director Luke Graham said the appointment marked another key step in its strategy to bring Coburn into production and formalises an important relationship with leading service providers in Primero and Mineral Technologies.
Primero Chief Executive Officer Cameron Henry said Primero looks forward to working with Strandline’s management team to safely and successfully deliver Coburn’s state-of-the-art processing facilities. The successful award of the project again demonstrates the technical ability and expanding capacity of the group to deliver projects of this scale and importance in the minerals processing sector.
Source: Company Press Release