Australian miner Magnum Mining & Exploration and Mitsubishi have reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the offtake and buying and selling of merchandise from the Buena Vista Inexperienced Iron Challenge in Nevada, US.
The MoU contains all of the merchandise produced on the Buena Vista Inexperienced Iron Challenge, together with direct transport ore (DSO), iron focus, high-intensity smelt (HIsmelt)-produced pig iron and slag, all metal plant waste and extra biochar.
It can additionally act as the idea for discussions, which might progress right into a definitive settlement.
The settlement will stay legitimate for 3 years and will embrace extensions which were mutually agreed upon.
Magnum additionally signed an settlement with Shandong Province Metallurgical Engineering (SDM) to hold out a feasibility examine for a HIsmelt plant at Buena Vista.
Magnum CEO Neil Goodman stated: “This MoU offers the Buena Vista Inexperienced Iron Challenge a sound foundation for shifting ahead to a feasibility examine.’
“The ferrous uncooked supplies division of Mitsubishi is an internationally recognised and revered commodity buying and selling group. Magnum welcomes this vital strategic alliance and the surety it might probably convey to the mission’s growth.”
Owned by Magnum, the Buena Vista mission is positioned 160km east-north-east of Reno, Nevada.
The mission is almost 50km from a Union Pacific rail line, which connects with a number of ports similar to Stockton, West Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco and Richmond (Levin).
It was found within the Nineties and produced 900,000t of direct transport magnetite ore with an estimated grade of 58% iron between the Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties.
Within the Nineteen Sixties, US Metal acquired the mission and performed an exploration programme, together with 230 diamond drill holes.
Greater than A$34m has been spent on the mission within the final decade.
The cash was spent on feasibility research and allowing for long-term manufacturing of +67.5% iron and magnetite concentrates with out deleterious impurities.
At the start of this yr, Magnum reported the invention of lithium on the Buena Vista Inexperienced Pig Iron Challenge.
A limited-scope stream sediment survey was performed over a large space inside the mission land final November.
The samples from the land have been recognized to have non-iron targets. Three samples from the location confirmed 74.3ppm, 41.1ppm, and 13.1ppm to 24.9ppm of lithium focus.
