Allup Silica (ASX:APS) has enlisted IHC Mining Consultants to begin the initial stages of the Prefeasibility Study (PFS) engineering design for its McLaren Mineral Sands Project in Western Australia.
The company expects to complete the PFS during the second quarter of next year.
Allup Silica is preparing to launch a Q4 2024 drilling program that aims to update the existing mineral resource estimate (MRE) and to investigate the potential of increasing the known resource.
Environmental Resources Management has been appointed to plan the infill drilling and update the MRE once results are received.
The scope and requirements of IHC’s engineering includes a mining rate of 10 million tonnes per annum using dry mining unit technology — which is a technique commonly used in the mineral sands industry to enable bulk mining — as well as target a resource of 200 million tonnes in the JORC indicated category.
The study will also target a 20-year mine life with planned production up to 400,000tpa ilmenite product.
The company says it is able to leverage extensive previous work to accelerate completion of the PFS.
In 2018, IHC completed a metallurgical testwork program on a representative sample derived from a 14-tonne bulk sample from the McLaren deposit which assayed 7.2% heavy mineral.
Allup says mineralogical analyses of the heavy mineral indicate it to contain 56.3% ilmenites and higher grade titanium minerals such as leucoxene.
The IHC metallurgical testwork program confirmed the material to be amenable to standard mineral sands processing methodologies, utilising typical mineral sands equipment
Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral that is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide is used in paints, printing inks, fabrics, plastics, paper, sunscreen, food, and cosmetics.
In 2023, the global ilmenite market exceeded US$8.8 billion. The market is further estimated to register a CAGR of more than 8% to 2032.
The closing price for ilmenite sand IP3 grade ex Moma (Mozambique) as of 31 March 2024 was $US300 per tonne.
Allup Silica is an explorer focused on the future development of its heavy mineral sands and silica sand tenements in Western Australia.
The company will be presenting at the Noosa Mining Conference being held from 13-15 November 2024 at Peppers Noosa Resort. Click to register. Mining.com.au is a media partner of this year’s event.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Allup Silica
