The deposit, an ancient coastal placer, is a surface deposit with low-grade overburden of about 9m to 18m, under which is a mineralised layer with an average thickness of about 13.5m, suitable for mining through an open-pit bulldozer mining method and conveyed by slurry pump. [FS p.28]

The Cyclone Deposit is made up of a number of mineralised strand systems which are interpreted to represent Tertiary beach placer deposits with associated overlying dunal and underlying near shore deposits. Quaternary cover overlies the deposit, and a shallow weathering profile with calcrete and ferruginous induration has developed in the overburden material, with the mineralised sands being free flowing with very little induration (rock) and low slimes contents which are favourable to conventional mining techniques.

Mineralisation occurs within bimodal near-shore fine sands, higher grade beach strandlines, homogenous beach sands, and overlying aeolian dune sands. A schematic stratigraphic column for Cyclone is presented below.

The mineralisation displays a very high value mineral assemblage and is dominated by zircon (31% of the HM) and a range of weathered / altered titanium bearing minerals (42% of the HM), with HiTi (70 85% TiO2) being the most abundant. Siliceous Ti-oxides (>10% SiO2) make up around 22% of the HM, but levels of other "trash" (i.e. low value) HM are very low.

Approximately 150ha will initially be cleared of vegetation for project construction and an average of 50ha per year will be cleared for ongoing operations, including mining activities and support facilities.

For the initial start-up pit when there will be no area available for rehabilitation, topsoil will be stored in stockpiles outside the mining area. The average annual topsoil removal rate is 50,000 cubic metres per year.

The ore to be mined is buried beneath varying depths up to 20m of weakly mineralised overburden including a zone of induration relating to a lateritic weathering profile. The overburden must be removed to expose the high grade ore zone for mining.

During normal operations, the overburden will be removed using an excavator and will be transported to the mined out areas in trucks where it will be dumped to backfill the pit. Overburden which is removed for development of the initial pit will be used to construct tailings storage facility walls.

Subsoil overburden will be stockpiled beside the mining area as required for the rehabilitation program and will be returned as subsoil to be placed on completed tailings before covering with topsoil.

A bulldozer and dozer trap method will be used to mine the ore. There will be two separate 650 tonnes per hour (tph) mining units at different sections of the face to ensure blending of higher and lower grade ore to produce a controlled feed grade to the WCP.
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