By RACHNA LAL
Additional Information: PROACTIVE INVESTORS
Amex Resources Limited has set February 20 as the formal commencement date for construction works for its Mba Delta iron sands projects.
Proactive Investors reports that this would include the construction of wharf and shiploading infrastructure at Amex’s Lautoka port site.
The Australian Stock Exchange-listed miners have drawn down AU$20 million of a recently-secured AU$100 million short-term loan facility.
This is an advance payment to the construction contractor for its Mba Delta iron sands project.
Chinese experts
The contractor, a major Chinese state-owned entity ranked in the Forbes 500 Largest Global Corporation list, is mobilising an advance party of 13 experts to site.
Amex Resources managing director, Matthew Collard, confirmed he would be arriving with these exports in the coming week.
The company holds a 21-year lease over the project, which carries a 220 million tonne indicated resource at 10.9 per cent iron.
Ongoing maintenance and dredging of Amex’s port is anticipated to provide benefits to the existing Port of Lautoka access maintenance.
But even with the new port, Amex’s operations would still require the services of the existing port, including tugs and pilotage supply of fuel, customs and maritime safety.
It will also require support and maintenance services from existing businesses and suppliers in Lautoka and elsewhere in Fiji.
Chinese buyer and production
Amex Resources recently achieved a major milestone with the signing of a formal off-take agreement for the project with an unnamed global top 500 company for 10 years.
This agreement has been described as a major advance for the company.
Is would allow Amex Resources to sell all its planned ironsands production for the first year of production and two-thirds of annual production up to year 10 to a major Chinese corporation.
Production of concentrate over the planned 20 year mine life is scheduled to be 500,000 tonnes in the first year, then 750,000 tonnes annually.
Plans are being considered for potential doubling of production to 1.5 million tonnes per annum after the first few years of operation.
More agreements
Proactive Investors reported Amex Resources maintains a number of memorandum of understandings and expressions of interest for iron sands tonnages.
This, together exceed the unallocated balance of scheduled annual production.
The company is confident further off take agreements will be reached as production draws near future.