Venture Minerals is now able to move ahead with the development of one of two iron ore mines which will be used to fund its flagship Mt Lindsay tin-tungsten project in Tasmania. In mid-May a Federal Court rejected an appeal against earlier environmental approvals given for the Riley direct shipping ore operation made by the activist group Save the Tarkine. Tasmania’s Resources Minister Paul Harriss last week told the Hobart Mercury that the government strongly supported Venture Minerals in the first stage of what would be a much larger project, with plans to mine iron ore at Livingston and tin, tungsten and iron ore at Mt Lindsay.
The Riley and Livingstone DSO projects could potentially produce net revenue of A$140 million over three years on capex of less than $7 million. This compares with estimated capex of A$198 million on the Mt Lindsay project, which will produce 2,500 tpy of tin-in-concentrate and 1,600 tpy of tungsten.
However the commencement of iron ore mining will not happen immediately. In a statement the company said: “Venture will not make its final production decision until the product off-take strategy and bank finance drawdown requirements are finalised. The Company will also assess the broader economic environment before making a final decision to commence mining at the Riley DSO Project.”
