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Australia

Mt Webber Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Iron Ore
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
SnapshotMt Webber is Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) Mine.

Due to economic and opportunistic circumstances, the Project has been developed in stages with each assessed and approved individually. Stage 1 comprised of the initial development of the mine (Ibanez and Fender pits), crushing infrastructure, contractor area, and permanent camp. Stage 2 comprised of the development of Dalton pit and associated mining infrastructure.

Stages 1 and 2 had progressed substantially with the completion of mining in Ibanez and Dalton pits and continuation of mining in the Fender pit.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd. 100 % Indirect
The Mt Webber mine is 100% owned by Atlas Iron Limited.

Atlas Iron Limited was acquired by Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Redstone Corporation Pty Ltd in December 2018.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Banded iron formation

Summary:

The Mount Webber Project consists of three deposits:
• Gibson/Daltons – one deposit split on a tenement boundary;
• Fender – located to the southwest on the same banded iron formation (BIF) unit as Gibson/Daltons; and
• Ibanez – located slightly to the west of Gibson on a parallel BIF outcrop.

The Project is located within the Archaean age Granite greenstone terrane of the Pilbara Craton, with the deposits occurring within the Gorge Creek and Sulphur Springs Groups of the Pilbara Supergroup (Slomp, 2017). Complex folding and faulting have resulted from the deposits being located between two large granitoid complexes – the Shaw Granitoid Complex to the east and the Yule Granitoid Complex to the west (Hermawan, 2013).

The deposits are hosted within the Pincunah Banded Iron Member (Hickman, 2013) of the Kangaroo Caves Formation. The Pincunah Banded Iron Member comprises red-black BIF, chert, tuff, siltstone and shale and is unconformably underlain by the Warrawoona Group mafic and ultramafic lithologies. The BIF and chert of the Pincunah Banded Iron Member form steep-sided ridges with flat-topped summits. The Pincunah Banded Iron Member has been informally divided into Upper and Lower BIF units separated by a thin chert unit.

One dolerite intrusive has been identified in the Fender deposit that cuts the entire sequence, but this has had no apparent effect on the mineralisation.

Mineralisation
The mineralisation has been recorded as predominantly gœthite with minor hæmatite (Hermawan, 2013). The mineralisation occurs as lenses of varying sizes ranging from 10 m to 15 m wide to several hundred metres wide and over a kilometre long and occurs in both the Upper and Lower BIF units, although the majority is within the Upper BIF unit. The mineralisation in the Lower BIF unit is thought to be poddy and laterally inconsistent, and consequently of lower prospectivity. The mineralisation has a hard cap that varies from 10 m to 30 m in depth.

It is believed by Atlas that the mineralisation was formed by supergene processes only. This is borne out by the grade and distribution of the bulk of the mineralisation. However, a brief review of the chemistry of Gibson/Daltons revealed the presence of mineralisation that may have a different origin.

The overall iron grade for the Gibson/Daltons resource (all categories) has been quoted as 57.9% Fe, 0.09% P and 8.3% LOI.

The majority of the holes were between 40 m and 80 m deep, with several extending below 100 m. The deepest hole recorded was 120 m.

A review of the Ibanez database revealed shallower holes, the majority ranging between 30 m and 60 m deep with several deeper than 100 m. The bulk of the mineralisation was goethitic, with minimal hæmatite. A few holes intersected higher grades, e.g. MWRC0933 which averaged 63.3% Fe, 0.094% P and 5.79% LOI for the 36 m intersection between 22 m and 58 m. This is most likely a martite-gœthite rather than having a metamorphic origin.

The mineralisation occurs in synclinal fold closures where the BIF is thickened by intraformational folding, with the synclines corresponding to the topographic highs and the valleys to eroded antiformal hinges.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityUnits20232021202020192018
Iron Ore Mt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe7.2 *8.4 *
All production numbers are expressed as lump & fines. * Production numbers were reported as 'Average annual' ** Combined production for Mt Webber Mine and Sanjiv Ridge (Corunna Downs) Mine

Operational metrics

Metrics202220202018
Annual mining rate  ....  Subscribe
Annual ore mining rate  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe7 Mt

Production Costs

CommodityUnits2018
C1 cash costs Iron Ore AUD 39.3 / wmt  
All-in costs Iron Ore AUD 57.6 / wmt  

Financials

Units20202019
Revenue M AUD  ....  Subscribe 703  
After-tax Income M AUD  ....  Subscribe 142  
Operating Cash Flow M AUD  ....  Subscribe 149  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 13, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 13, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 13, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 13, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 13, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 13, 2024

EmployeesYear
...... Subscription required 2019

Aerial view:

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