Group 6 Metals (ASX:G6M) will dive into this week’s Noosa Mining Investor Conference to discuss the recent progress at its Dolphin Tungsten Mine in Tasmania and a 12-month production forecast, which is expected to pick up significantly.
Mining.com.au is a media partner of this year’s event, being held at the Peppers Noosa Resort from 17-19 July.
Speaking to Mining.com.au ahead of the Noosa conference, CEO Keith McKnight says after a challenging first 12 months of operation, the focus of Group 6 Metals is now firmly on ramping up the Dolphin Tungsten Mine production and optimising operations to minimise costs.
“We have identified many opportunities and are executing on the plan. With high-grade material being fed to the process plant boosting production and a renewed focus on efficiency, we are confident we can achieve cash flow positive operation within the next three to four months,” McKnight tells this news service.
“That will be a significant achievement for our company. We have re-evaluated ore sorting for the Dolphin orebody and recent trials have provided some very encouraging results.
“While the Dolphin orebody is very high grade, there is an excellent opportunity to upgrade lower grade ore currently not in the mine plan, which will increase mined ore volumes and increase feed grade improving overall recovery.”
In the medium-term the CEO says the company will focus on the integration of renewable energy, which will lower its carbon footprint and reduce power generation costs.
McKnight says Group 6 is working with a Tasmania-based fund called Climate Capital to execute the first part of this strategy, which is the installation of solar array and battery with the potential to replace up to 49% of the current demand.
The CEO notes as such, with a raft of other works program implemented mining at the Dolphin Tungsten Mine in Tasmania is now hitting its straps with the development of the stage one pit shell, and the start of mining high-grade C-lens achieving “fantastic grades” of 0.9% WO3.
With the strip ratio decreasing as stage one progresses, open cut is providing an opportunity to rationalise equipment and reduce costs, while the process plant is benefitting from the higher grade feed material resulting in higher recoveries.
“We have undertaken a review of the process plant in consultation with the OEMs and have identified opportunities to improve reliability and performance of the process plant which we have already made good progress on,” he tells Mining.com.au.
“All in all it sets up well for the step change in production we are forecasting for the remainder of 2024. We will also take the opportunity (at Noosa) to update on the tungsten market.”
On a macro level, McKnight says 2023 endured lower-than-normal trading volumes as destocking of inventories that were built up in 2022 continued.
Despite this the APT price remains stable at US$300 per mtu or above. In the past two months, the APT price has increased to U$325 per mtu due to tightening of Chinese domestic supply, and more activity from Chinese buyers in western markets.
McKnight says the Noosa conference is therefore ideal to update the market, noting the medium to long-term market outlook looks positive, with strong demand from the construction, mining, energy, and defence sectors, as well as growth in new areas such as tungsten wire cutting for solar PV cells and in semiconductor manufacturing.
“Noosa attracts a good mix of investors, brokers and mining companies, showcasing diverse investment opportunities giving attendees a broad range of options. It is always well run and well attended,” the CEO says.
“It provides a relaxed yet sophisticated environment for conducting business. It is also very convenient for us being headquartered in Brisbane so we are always keen to attend when possible.”
On 5 June, Mining.com.au reported Group 6 in collaboration with privately held Climate Capital began evaluating the integration of a 7.5 megawatt solar panel array and a 5.5 megawatt battery storage system at the Dolphin tungsten mine.
The solar power system would sit adjacent to the processing plant, which processed 24,422 tonnes at 88% plant utilisation in April this year.
Climate Capital has completed power modelling and an extensive site assessment, and both parties expressed interest in negotiating a power purchase agreement under a build-own-operate model for project delivery.
By reducing its reliance on diesel fuel, the production of the Dolphin Tungsten Mine has the potential to lower greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable operation. The Climate Capital project is expected to reduce diesel power generation by up to 49% for the current site’s power demand.
Mining.com.au is a media partner of this year’s Noosa Mining Investor Conference, being held at the Peppers Noosa Resort from 17-19 July. To register click here.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Group 6 Metals
