Hawsons Iron (ASX:HIO) has announced 2.3 billion tonnes of a probable ore reserve estimate for the wholly owned Hawsons Iron Project in New South Wales.
This estimate, alongside the results of the Prefeasibility Study (PFS) estimate the project at 2.3 billion tonnes at an average grade of 11.7% Davis tube recovery and 16.7% total iron.
The PFS has defined a project development strategy based on production figure of up to 12 million tonnes per annum (tpa) of greater than 68% iron-magnetite concentrate with a 26 year life of mine estimate.
The PFS has provided the company with the confidence needed to advance the project towards a full Feasibility Study. Project economics have outlined a pre-tax internal return rate of 10.93% and a pre-tax net present value of $1,360 million at a price of US$140 (A$211) per tonne.
The PFS has fulfilled the company’s key goals with the declaration of the 2,300 million tonne JORC-compliance probable ore reserve estimate and the economic viability of the project. It has also outlined the main risks and opportunities for the project which will be considered as part of the full Feasibility Study.
Hawsons has established a forward works plan for 2026 which will include confirmatory/optimisation test work at scale, completion of viability works for byproduct extraction, drilling to expand and upgrade portions of the mineral resource to Measured and Indicated categories, representative sample collection for pilot work, waste management plans, the commencement of the Feasibility Study, and environmental and permitting plans.
Chair Jeremy Kirkwood calls the completion of the PFS a “significant milestone” for the company.
“The results of the PFS confirm that Hawsons Iron is a very large, but ultimately straightforward, mining and mineral processing project which can produce a high grade, low impurity iron concentrate,” Kirkwood says.
“Utilising existing processing technologies which take advantage of Hawson’s ‘soft’ ore and augmented existing infrastructure, Hawsons can deliver around 10-12 million tpa of product to meet growing international demand for DRI feedstock and ultimately for ‘greener’ steel.”
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Hawsons Iron
