Mining Intelligence and News
Australia

Savage River UG Project

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Categories

Summary

Mine TypeUnderground
Study CompletedFeasibility
Commodities
  • Iron Ore
Mining Method
  • Block caving
  • Sub-level caving
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Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotSavage River consists of North Pit, Centre Pit, and one previously mined pit (South Deposit), which is not currently included in the Life of Mine Plan.

In early 2025, a progress review confirmed the technical and economic viability of underground mining beneath North Pit (NPUG), integrating it with the current open-cut operations at Savage River.

NPUG Project
• Pre-Development Work: Already completed the UG decline and other development (+5km) materially derisks the technical risk;
• FID Pathway: Progressing debt funding pathways to achieve FID.

Expansion Opportunities
• Production Expansion: Increasing slurry pipeline capacity could boost production (Block Cave could produce up to 8-10 Mtpa).

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Grange Resources Ltd. 100 % Indirect
Grange Resources Ltd. indirectly owns 100% interest in the Savage River mine through it's wholly owned subsidiary Grange Resources Tasmania Ltd.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Metamorphic hosted

Summary:

The Savage River magnetite deposit lies within and near the eastern margin of the Proterozoic Arthur Metamorphic Complex in north-western Tasmania. This complex is exposed along a northeast-southwest trending structural corridor, the Arthur Lineament, which separates Proterozoic sedimentary rocks to the northwest from a variety of Palaeozoic rocks to the southeast.

The magnetite deposits at Savage River represent the largest of a series of discontinuous lenses that extend in a narrow belt for some 25 kilometres south of the Savage River Township. The deposit is subdivided into sections on the basis of areas that have been mined. The areas are referred to as North Pit, South Lens, Centre Pit, and South Deposit.

Magnetite ore is almost entirely enclosed within a highly sheared and strike-faulted belt of mafic and ultramafic rocks specifically serpentinite and talc-carbonate schist. The magnetite ranges in thickness from 40 to 150 metres in width and is termed the Main Ore Zone (MOZ).

Narrow (<20metre) lenses and layers also occur in the mafic sequence to the west. The mafic sequence comprises chlorite-calcite-albite schist and layered green amphibole-chlorite-albite schist.

The magnetite ores comprise three volumetrically important groups: pyritic ores, ores associated with serpentine and talc-carbonate ores. The ore may be massive, layered, or disseminated and range from being fine-grained to coarsely crystalline. Accessory mineral phases may include talc, tremolite, actinolite, chlorite, epidote, apatite and carbonate in varying amounts. The mineral assemblages preserved at Savage River imply middle to upper green-schist facies metamorphic conditions.

Dimensions
• The Savage River orebodies occur discontinuously over a strike length of 6km with thickness ranging from 40-150m.
• All lenses remain open at depth.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Commodity Production

CommodityUnitsLOM
Iron Ore kt 28,000
All production numbers are expressed as concentrate.

Operational metrics

Metrics
Annual ore mining rate  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined, LOM  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2024 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
C1 cash costs Iron Ore AUD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Iron Ore AUD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2024 study / presentation.

Operating Costs

CurrencyAverage
UG mining costs ($/t milled) AUD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2024 study.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Total CapEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 6, 2025
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Workforce

Aerial view:

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