Weld Range bankable Feasibility Study
The Weld Range Iron Ore Project is located approximately 600 km northeast of Perth, southwest of the town of Meekatharra in Western Australia. Sinosteel Midwest Corporation engaged SRK to perform technical mining assessments to support the project's bankable feasibility study (BFS).
Sinosteel intended the mining operation to produce a direct shipping ore product at a rate of 15 Mtpa, with a targeted mine life of 15 years. This product was to be sourced from two banded ironstone formation deposits; Madoonga and Beebyn.
SRK commenced work on the project in 2007, providing technical mining assessments and a mine planning study to support a pre-feasibility study for the undeveloped deposits.
In 2009, SRK provided technical assistance to the BFS with the goal of providing a workable and realistic project outline that could withstand due diligence and be used to support external funding efforts. SRK undertook studies in in seven key areas, including geological studies, geotechnical engineering, hydrogeology, mine planning, acid drainage and metal leaching, conceptual mine closure planning, and risk review.
As part of the project, SRK delivered field- and office-based programs, resulting in standalone technical reports, which have been key technical documents for both the pre-feasibility study and BFS. Additionally, SRK assisted the client in authoring the overarching BFS summary document that presented all the project studies in one report.
