Solomon Hub Deposits – Firetail, Kings and Queens. The Solomon Project area is situated approximately 60km to the north of the Tom Price township in the northern Hamersley ranges. Outcropping geology in the project area is dominated by the Dales Gorge, Whaleback Shale and Joffre Members of the Brockman Iron Formation which hosts large bedded iron deposits (BID) throughout the Hamersley Province. The Firetail deposit comprises the majority of BID tonnes at Solomon, where geologically favourable environments have allowed for the formation and preservation of large tonnages of bedded iron mineralisation.

Incised into the bedrock geology are regional palaeochannel systems, predominantly one to two kilometres in width, and stretching for tens of kilometres. During the Miocene period, deep chemical weathering and erosion of iron rich material into these fluvial channels has formed channel iron deposits (CID). The CID is subdivided into an upper ‘hard CID’ and a lower ‘ochreous CID’, there is also a semi-continuous middle CID layer which is difficult to detect with RC drilling. Clay lenses within the CID are observed as semi-discrete bands, often several meters thick. The clay lenses are somewhat discontinuous and of a poddy nature although often traceable between drill holes. CID of approximately 40km strike length is preserved in the Kings CID system, with an additional 25km of CID located in the Serenity deposit to the west. Other CID occurrences are also known throughout the Solomon project area. The material overlying the CID (and other areas) has been eroded from adjacent mineralised and un-mineralised bedrock. This clastic material is concentrated into horizons of elevated iron grade termed detrital iron deposits (DID), which forms part of the sequence of overlying late Tertiary aged alluvial and colluvial deposits.

Mineralisation within the Solomon area is hosted by buried Channel Iron Deposits (CID), Bedded mineralisation (BID and Detrital mineralisation (DID). Outcropping geology in the area is the Dales Gorge, Whaleback Shale and Joffre Members of the Brockman Iron Formation which contain the BID mineralisation. Incised into this bedrock geology are the large Channel systems which contain the DID and CID mineralisation.

Firetail: The bedded mineralisation has a strike length of 7km and outcrops on the north and south limbs of an anticline. Mineralisation is strata bound, has an average thickness of 20m and extends to a depth of 100m below surface in places.

Mining will continue to employ conventional open pit methods of drill and blast followed by load and haul, similar to the methods employed at other open cut mines in the Pilbara. Material will be drilled and blasted on nominally 5 m or 12 m benches2 for ore and waste, and then mined by hydraulic backhoe configured excavators, taking into account blast induced swell, into haul trucks.

Existing waste dumps will be used until pit voids are available for backfilling.

Solomon currently consists of several mining areas (including Firetail (North and South), Valley of the Kings (Kings), Valley of the Queens (Queens), Trinity, and Zion) and processing hubs with associated support infrastructure.

The Run of Mine (ROM) ore from each mining area will be blended at a number of separate stockpiling
areas and crushing hubs to ensure a consistent mix of ore to achieve the required blend.

Gravity concentration of the ore combined with the separation of sand and clay waste material. ROM pads and associated ROM feed bins are proposed at each crushing hub. Ore is currently carried from the crushing hubs via conveyors to the OPFs at Kings and Firetail.

The Proposal will continue to use wet and dry ore processing facilities and procedures, including a scrubbing and screening plant, primary crushing facilities and a wet beneficiation plant for wet processing. Each plant is independently fed from its dedicated stockpiles and fee ........