Two ASX-listed explorers today announced progress reports on the Gillian project in Queensland and Mt Lindsay in Tasmania. Consolidated Tin Mines announced the results of metallurgical test work on ore samples from the former, while Venture Minerals released highlights of a scoping study on the latter. Both projects are potential substantial open pit mines, but with significant financial and technical hurdles to overcome.
Consolidate Tin Mines’ Gillian project has a JORC resource of 3 million tonnes at 0.8% tin and is part of the wider Mt Garnet project in the Herberton area of North Queensland. The latest work indicates that at least 30% was recoverable into a 45% Sn concentrate and a further 30 – 40% could be recovered into lower grade concentrates (17 – 22% Sn or lower) following further processing. "Consolidated Tin has been very encouraged by the results, which have exceeded expectations and continue to confirm the potential of the project area to be developed into a large-tonnage, low mining cost open-pit tin mining operation," managing director Mr Ralph De Lacey said.
Venture Minerals’ scoping study indicated that the poly-metallic Mt Lindsay project could generate annual cash flow of over $100 million per year over a life of at least seven years, taking into account revenues from tin, tungsten and magnetite. The results are based on a 4.4 million tpy throughput operation involving estimated capex of A$255 million. The project has an inferred JORC resource of 23 million tonnes at 0.2% tin and the scoping study assumes that 67% of tin is recovered into concentrates.
