Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy Industrial Minerals for Export Markets John Keeling 9 th SA Exploration and Mining Conference, 2012 www.dmitre.sa.gov.au
Minerals Mine Gate Production Value 2
Industrial Mineral Production in SA: 2011-2012 Local Industries Glass - container Glass - flat Plasterboard Cement Steelmaking Agriculture Export Heavy minerals zircon, TiO 2 (Note - preliminary data subject to revision) 3
Eucla Basin Successful HM Export Development Geology High-grade resource Unique deposit: Zr>Ti Zircon production decoupled from titanium minerals Expertise Iluka: market leader in HM Exploration/Mining/Process expertise Flexibility with resource base Markets Established customer base Established supply lines Flexibility to respond to changes in market demand 4
Industrial Minerals - Focus on Markets Customer Requirements Fit for purpose p Consistent product Just-in-time delivery Producer Knowledge Technical knowledge of customer manufacture process Understand the competition Develop and maintain a competitive edge Relationship Building Manufacture process designed around raw material Co-operative exchange of technical data feedback 5
Critical Raw Materials European Union Rare Earths PGM EU Critical Materials Magnesium Niobium Barite Beryllium Tungsten Graphite Talc Lithium Iron Magnesite Manganese Source: Report of the ad-hoc Working Group on defining critical raw materials, July 2010 6
Magnesite Australia s largest Economic Demonstrated Resources are in SA: 235 Mt @ ave. 40% MgO* Neoproterozoic magnesite conglomerates Surface outcrop - moderately to steeply dipping beds - continuous and predictable over kms *Source: Geoscience Australia - Australia s Identified Mineral Resources 2011 7
Sedimentary Magnesite - Geology Thin beds of magnesite (average 0.5 1.0m) Interbedded with dolomite Grades: 80-88% magnesite Impurities dolomite, talc, quartz, albite Myrtle Springs Quarry - 1998 8
Magnesite Properties & Implications for Use Conglomerate clasts composed of very fine-grained and porous magnesite high reactivity Contaminants also fine- grained - not easily separated by comminution Dolomite High-grade product achieved using chemical dissolution to exclude insoluble impurities Magnesite Products from magnesite such as dead-burned and electro-fused magnesia for refractories, or magnesium metal manufacture, all have high power requirements Talc Magnesite 9
Graphite Eastern Eyre Peninsula - best geological environment for flake graphite in Australia Jameison Tank Sugarloaf Hill Campoona High-grade metamorphism of Late Archean Early Paleoproterozoic chemical and organicrich sediments Kookaburra Gully Carpa Graphite locality Strongly deformed and commonly close to major shear zones Koppio Gum Flat 50 km TMI image eastern Eyre Peninsula Uley 10
Mikkira Graphite Province Uley Graphite Mine: last worked 1989-1992 Products Grade: 85% to >94% FC Size: <150 micron to >300 micron Graphite Resource: Main Road Deposit* Indicated 4.3 Mt @ 9.4% GC Inferred 2.3 Mt @ 7.5% GC (cut off 3.8% Graphitic Carbon (GC)) *Source: Coffey Mining Pty Ltd (2012) (SER ASX release 20 July 2012) 11
Graphite price graph: (coarse flake >90%C +80 mesh) Chinese graphite dominant source since 1992 becoming more restricted 12
Uley Graphite Mine structural complexity Pit opened up on broad anticlinorium fold hinge, plunging g NNE Synclinal folds strongly sheared Structural model a key factor in resource definition and pit planning 13
Uley Mine weathered zone factors 1989-92 Weathered zone ave. 50m thick, easy mining large ore stockpile soon Fe-rich clay established Lower recovery and product grade for graphite from the groundwater carbonate zone ore within the weathered profile - calcite now mixed throughout the ore stockpile despite significant plant modifications no effective metallurgical fix achieved Fe oxide Solution raise new stockpile with greater geological control on sampling and mining Uley Mine coarse flake graphite product showing contaminant phases 14
Weathered profile and graphite flake size recovery Uley open pit post mine closure in 1992 - metallurgical bench testing on graphite in drill core Geometallurgical data essential to inform sampling, mining and stockpile organisation to ensure predictable feed to the process plant Uley laboratory analyses (1993) - Data from graphite intersected in12 diamond cored holes, 74 samples, Keeling (2000) 15
Graphite traditional vs developing markets New markets for graphite demand higher-grade product >99.4% GC Acid or high temperature processing to remove contaminants value add Specialised treatments shaping, exfoliation, coatings Competition with synthetic graphite natural flake has technical advantages Opportunities in both traditional and developing markets Natural variation in graphite effects process and marketability cryptomelane manganese oxide celadonite opaline silica Variation in alteration coatings on graphite from Sleaford Bay 16
Key Points Industrial Minerals are market driven mineral suppliers need ongoing g awareness of market requirements and trends To break into international markets requires special circumstances A shortfall in international supplies A mineral product with significant price or technical advantage Where expertise is lacking Partner with, or sell to, an established specialist mineral supplier Partner with a product manufacturer Properties and variations of the ore need to be established at the early stages of assessment in order to best identify market opportunities and processing options 17
Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy SA Industrial Minerals - Growing opportunities in export markets Contact details: John Keeling Team leader Mineral Systems Phone: (08) 84633135 Email: John.Keeling@sa.gov.au www.dmitre.sa.gov.au