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Australia

Keysbrook Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Zircon
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotKeysbrook is known as one of the world’s largest leucoxene deposits.

Keysbrook Leucoxene (Pty) Ltd. is seeking to expand its current mining operation for the Keysbrook Mineral Sands Project. The Proposal is a referred to as the ‘Western Extension’ to the Keysbrook Mineral Sands Mine.

Mining within the Western Extension is proposed to operate for 65 months (i.e. 5.5 years), commencing in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026 (i.e. January 2026) and finishing in Q2 of 2031.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Iwatani Corp. 100 % Indirect
Keysbrook Leucoxene Pty Ltd (KLPL), a subsidiary of Doral Mineral Sands Pty Ltd (Doral), operate the Keysbrook Mineral Sands Mine

Doral Pty Ltd is wholly owned by Iwatani Corporation of Japan.

Deposit type

  • Mineral sands

Summary:

The project lies within the Swan Coastal Plain, approximately 3 km west of the Darling Scarp (which is the surface expression of the Darling Fault). The Darling Fault separates the Precambrian Yilgarn Block sequences from the Phanerozoic strata of the Swan Coastal Plain. The fault has an estimated maximum displacement of 15 km and, as a result of erosion, lies approximately 1 to 2 km west of the present scarp.

The Swan Coastal Plain extends from the Darling Scarp to the Indian Ocean, and ranges up to 75 m above sea level. A narrow piedmont zone occurs at the base of the scarp comprising alluvial fans and remnants of two strand-line deposits: the Ridge Hill Sandstone and the Yoganup Formation. West of the piedmont zone lies an alluvial swathe up to 10 km wide, termed the Pinjarra Plain. The Pinjarra Plain, comprising the Guildford Formation, ranges in elevation from 6 to 50 m and is overlain to the west by a series of coastal sand dunes. The oldest of these sequences is the Pleistocene Bassendean Sand, which hosts the Keysbrook Mineral Sand Deposit.

The Guildford Formation is characterised by clay, loam, sand and gravel of alluvial origin, with variable laterisation and podsolization. The Bassendean Sand and Guildford Formation have a combined thickness of 10 to 15 m and unconformably overlie about 50 to 130 m of Creataceous Leederville Formation. In the western portion of the project area the Leederville Formation conformably overlies the Cretaceous South Perth Shale, and in the eastern part it conformably overlies the Jurassic Cattamarra Coal Measures.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Production

CommodityProductUnits2022 *20202019 *201820172016
Heavy Minerals Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe979358
Zircon Concentrate kt 20 *21169.7
Leucoxene L88 kt 263010
Leucoxene L70 kt 281712
* Average annual production reported in 2019

Operational metrics

Metrics2023201820172016
Hourly processing capacity  ....  Subscribe
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe5.25 Mt
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe135,000 t of heavy minerals concentrate
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe4,018,346 t3,967,154 t2,522,311 t
Tonnes processed  ....  Subscribe3,397,436 t3,620,656 t2,385,321 t

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Financials

Units20182017
Capital expenditures M AUD 14.7   13.7  
Revenue M AUD 42.5   39.6  
Pre-tax Income M AUD -29.8   -24.7  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNamePhoneEmailProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ........... Subscription required Subscription required Dec 11, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Dec 11, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ........... Subscription required ........... Subscription required Subscription required Dec 11, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ........... Subscription required Subscription required Dec 11, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Dec 11, 2023

Total WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2023
...... Subscription required 2019

Aerial view:

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