Toronto-based Black Iron (TSE:BKI) says it plans to release the initial results of its bankable feasibility study for its Shymanivske iron ore project in Ukraine prior to market open on Thursday, November 15.
The company said late yesterday that the study represents the fourth significant milestone delivered on time by Black Ironsince its IPO in March 2011.
It continues to advance its Shymanivske project and said it remains on track within its planned development schedule for anticipated construction completion in the second half of fiscal 2015.
Following the release of the results, the company has scheduled an analyst and shareholder conference call, with a webcast at 8:00am ET on the same day.
Last month, Black Iron said it expects a 26 per cent increase in yearly production rates, resulting from the completed optimized process flowsheet at its Shymanivske iron ore project in Ukraine.
The optimization work, completed in support of the company's ongoing feasibility study for the project, was done with WorleyParsons Canada Services.
The iron ore miner said that full details on the impact of the flowsheet modifications will be included in the feasibility study due out next week.
Increased production rates were due to the replacement of the semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mills specified in the preliminary economic assessment phase of the project, with high pressure grinding rolls.
The company said this change eliminated the bottleneck at the primary grinding stage of the process, and has allowed an increase in production rates from 7.3 million tonnes per year, to a life-of-mine average rate of 9.2 million tonnes, post-ramp up.
The change to the high pressure grinding technology also results in increased energy efficiency, Black Iron noted, as well as the elimination of the need for steel grinding balls - ultimately leading to lower unit operating costs.
In September, Black Iron said the results of an updated mineral resource estimate on its Shymanivske project “clearly validated” that the project has further upside.
The updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for Shymanivske, located in Kryviy Rih, Ukraine, represented a 73-per-cent increase in the measured and indicated mineral resources for the project from the preliminary economic assessment work done in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Shymanivske’s measured and indicated mineral resources now include 645.8 million tonnes at 31.6 per cent iron, representing 355.1 million tonnes in the measured category and 290.7 million tonnes in the indicated category, based on a cut-off grade of 10-per-cent magnetite iron.
This is on top of 188.3 million tonnes of inferred mineral resources grading 30.1 per cent iron.
Simpson said in September that there will not be any further exploration or development drilling at the property until late next year at the earliest, as the project currently has a mine life of over 20 years "which is more than sufficient to justify construction of a processing facility."
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