THE Shine Iron Ore Mine in Western Australia’s mid-west is to restart and will use owner Fenix Resource’s transport logistics and port infrastructure to help make the project viable.
Fenix plans to get site works under way in the current quarter with the first iron ore production targeted for the December 2024 quarter.
Significant cost savings will come from using the company’s 100% owned Newhaul logistics and port services functions.
From Shine to Geraldton is a haulage distance of less than 300km compared to around 500km from Geraldton to Iron Ridge.
Haulage is expected to average 100,000 tonnes per month once production gets under way during the current and forthcoming financial years.
Shine is an open pit iron ore mine 295km east of Geraldton and 70km southeast of the regional township of Yalgoo.
It was acquired by Fenix in July 2023 as part of the company’s acquisition of Mount Gibson Iron Limited’s Mid-West iron ore, port and rail assets for which Mount Gibson had acquired the iron ore mining and development rights associated with Shine from Gindalbie Metals Ltd for $15 million in March 2014.
Mount Gibson expanded the resource base with additional drilling and completed technical and economic studies for a targeted direct shipping ore mining operation with staged production.
Following the additional investment of more than $25 million in development capital and the receipt of all required approvals, mining at Shine started in March 2021 with the first shipment from the port of Geraldton in August 2021.
Mount Gibson suspended operations at Shine in October 2021 as a result of a significant increase in their third-party haulage and shipping transport costs, and a drop in iron ore prices.
