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I found this interesting: https://www.fastmarkets.com/Media/Files/PRA/FMV2/pdfs/Promotional%20materials/Understanding_the_high-grade_iron_ore_market_Fastmarkets.pdf
I presume our iron ore will be in the form of fine powder Fe2O3 (haematite) after the salt-roast process, possibly as a slurry in a lagoon / tailings dam.
I don't think that it needs to be too complicated, open a new gate to the stockpile and farm the whole process out to a third party at a contracted (perhaps variable) price. Then it is just income I guess.
Right. The penny has dropped. There's a big pile of iron ore (worth?) because we've mined it to extract the Vanadium, and consequently there's a whole lot more still in the ground. Understood.
And consequently if we had the facilities we could process the iron ore into pig iron and sell that, or theoretically just sell the ore. Is it financially feasible for someone to buy and transport unprocessed iron ore? Presumably if it ever is then now is the time as iron ore is commanding a high price.
Getting there. Thanks again to you all.
China needs some?
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3132693/china-australia-relations-iron-ore-prices-hit-record-market
Indeed Pdub. So far as timing, Fortune did a whistle stop tour of the UK in November 2015 & that was when he stated that the MOU with CREC was being put on the back burner by mutual consent.
Apologies for duplication of other answers. Hadn’t seen them when posting.
What is great to see is so many willing to help in such a constructive way. An excellent counterpoint to all the negativity.
Hi.
This might be useful in establishing the potential for the Mokopane Iron Ore project.
https://www.investegate.co.uk/bushveld-minerals-ld--bmn-/rns/operations-update---bushveld-iron-ore/201403310700295481D/
In this RNS from March 2014 the Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resource was stated as 991 million tonnes. Not sure if there has been any more recent updates. Happy to be corrected.
Those that have been here long enough will remember a few pertinent points:
Corbine’s requests for the 3D on the mine! (which did eventually arrive)
The announced MoU with China Railways (may not be totally accurate with the name from memory) though this ended up on the back burner.
Fortune I believe it was that stated the need for iron ore to be $100 + to make the project viable. The iron ore was and remained below that level for several years. In the last 12 months the iron ore price has risen sharply from $80 to $200 + today? Not sure if the same economics apply today compared to when Fortune referenced $100 base but clearly this is has the potential to be a very valuable asset, not to mention the other associated minerals such as phosphate in the overburden and titanium.
Personally I can’t see BMN operating this resource given their focus on Vanadium and energy storage and also the Capex requirements. However Fortune has surprised us all in the past .... ! A sale would be a logical step although perhaps a joint venture supplying iron ore to plants elsewhere may be possible. Others may have more knowledgable thoughts on this.
Just my opinion and happy to be corrected.
We DO have a mountain of iron ore already dug up - it will be about 35 times the size (in tons) of the V we have shipped to date.
The inflection point for FM was $100 for Fe so being more than double should have alerted him.
A JV at Mokopane as a separate interest would be interesting if ring fenced from vanadium operations. Vanadium has to be the priority for expenditure but if we hit another spike and are flushed with cash next year....
Thanks everyone for the information. Very much appreciated.
I'll come clean, because I had assumed that by "stockpile" we literally had a mountain of iron ore round the back somewhere which had already been dug up. The reality seems to be that it's still in the ground.
Honestly, I actually can tie my own shoelaces but I seem to have hold of the wrong end of the stick here.
Looking at the link that Lionel kindly supplied, I'd revise the stockpile size down a bit, to about 35 times the V tonnage.
https://www.bushveldminerals.com/other-investments/
he Project has a JORC-compliant Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resource of 955 Mt, with an average grade of 33.7 % Fe and significant TiO2 (over 18 % TiO2 in-magnetite concentrates). The project boasts some of the highest in-magnetite grades of titanium in the world and could be developed as a titanium and pig iron project in the long run, depending on the evolution of low capital intensive methods for processing the ore.
RNS Number : 5481D
Bushveld Minerals Limited
31 March 2014
Operations Update - Bushveld Iron Ore
https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/bushveld_minerals/news/rns/story/xzq907x
In Dec 2013 BMN entered into an MoU with China Railway No. 10 Co. Ltd (CREC 10) regarding the development of its P-Q Iron Ore Deposit in South Africa.
CREC 10 is a subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited which is a Fortune 500 company and one of China's largest state-owned infrastructure development companies as well as one of the largest customers to Chinese steel mills.
The MoU provided for CREC 10 and Bushveld to cooperate on a joint pyro-metallurgy test work programme with a view, subject to positive outcomes from the test work, to a potential investment, partnership for off-take contracts and/or joint infrastructure development where favourable.
RNS Number : 0424V
Bushveld Minerals Limited
09 December 2013
https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/bushveld_minerals/news/rns/story/xl51e3w
As reported by Proactive Investor Dec 2013
https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/53991/bushveld-to-cooperate-with-chinese-group-on-p-q-iron-project-64011.html
Mineral resource estimates (across all minerals, including Fe) are given in the Mokopane PFS (table, p16):
https://www.thebushveldperspective.com/slides/slide/mokopane-pfs-jan-2016-27
Cordially
Lionel
Our stockpile should be about 50 - 100 times the size of our Vanadium tonnage, based on 1 - 2% contained V. I'd have to go back through all the early JORC reports and RNSs, and shipping logs, to get any closer. As to value, I have seen prices from $76 to $250 a ton, so shall we say $120 a ton? Why haven't we flogged it? Maybe we have, or are about to. Maybe no-one has asked for any.
Huge. We signed an MOU with CREC years ago if memory serves me as cant locate it quickly in RNSs.
RNS 2014: Bushveld Minerals (BMN) has had successful results from the first aspect of its scoping study, which focuses on using smelting for the beneficiation of the Main Magnetite MML layer in the Limpopo Province in South Africa. Using the smelting process, which aims to produce pig iron or steel and high-grade vanadium ****, Bushveld has found that around 370kg of pig iron and 35kg of premium-grade venadium can be produced from every tonne of main magnetite MML layer processed at the Bushveld Vanadium project. Pre-reduction of the ore can significantly reduce the energy required for smelting and cut operational expenditure. "We are fortunate to have two proven processing route options for the MML Deposit, both of which are currently being used on the Bushveld Complex," said chief executive Fortune Mojapelo. "The Scoping Study currently underway will assist us in determining which route is optimal. We are pleased that modelling on the smelting route has yielded the positive results reported today, and we look forward to providing results on the salt roast processing route and completing the Scoping Study on this world class deposit," he added. The process involves smelting pre-reduced ore and then recovering the high-grade **** from prig iron in a converter operation. Both options are proven concepts used by major producers globally, added Bushveld. The second aspect of the scoping study will focus on the efficacy of the salt roast process, which will produce venadium pentoxide flakes and or ferrovanadium. Despite what one user on the Interactive Investor discussion board thought was "a good RNS"
I think someone asked about the iron ore recently but I didn't catch any answers. Forgive my lazy approach but how big is our stockpile, how much is it worth and why haven't we flogged it?
Shanghai Steel rebar futures opened 10% higher, iron ore was 7.7% higher.
From proactive investors.
www.ferroalloynet.com:Recently, the price of rebar has risen and fluctuated greatly, and raw material resources are relatively scarce, which has given confidence to the vanadium market. The sentim...
Full article later this afternoon , looking good thumbs up