Strandline Resources Ltd says it has made another important step in its preparations for production at the Coburn mineral sands project in Western Australia, executing a long‐term haulage and logistics services agreement with Qube Bulk Pty Ltd.
Qube is Australia’s largest integrated provider of export logistics services and is highly experienced in haulage, storage and ship loading of bulk mineral sands products, including at the Port of Geraldton, according to Strandline.
Qube’s scope comprises a turnkey logistics solution from mine‐to‐ship, including operating the haulage fleet, product storage facilities at Geraldton and coordinating ship loading activities. The agreement covers 100% of the mineral sands products to be produced at Coburn over an initial 10‐year term (around 225,000 t/y).
Qube’s services include load product at Coburn mine site into Qube‐owned triple road trains on a continuous 24‐7 basis; transport of ilmenite and zircon concentrate products to Qube’s existing Berth 4 storage facility at the Port of Geraldton ready for direct loading to ship; transport of zircon and rutile products to purpose‐built storage facility at Narngulu, ready for campaign loading at Berth 4, Port of Geraldton; and coordinate product deliveries for ship loading at the port to meet Strandline’s customer requirements.
The terms of the contract are in accordance with the production plan, logistics requirements and overall operating cost assumptions contained in the Coburn definitive feasibility study, released in June 2020, which outlined a mine life of 22.5 years at a mining rate of 23.4 Mt/y.
Appointment of Qube follows the previously announced 10‐year port access and services agreement with the Mid West Ports Authority, which operates the Port of Geraldton in Western Australia.
Qube is now preparing its Narngulu storage facility and existing Berth 4 port storage facility and trucking fleet ready for first cargo later next year, Strandline said.
With the strong construction progress achieved to date at Coburn, Strandline remains on track to achieve first production of heavy mineral concentrate in the December quarter of 2022.
Strandline Managing Director, Luke Graham, said: “We are delighted to establish this long‐term relationship with Qube, a leading logistics provider across Australia and a well‐established operator in the mid‐west region of Western Australia. Securing the strategic storage at port berth‐side for most of Coburn’s product volume is a significant advantage, resulting in extra flexibility and cost efficiencies.
“This agreement, when combined with the previously announced operational contracts, including for the contract mining services, supply of electricity, LNG, fuel and facilities management on site, means Strandline has already locked‐in circa-65% of its forecast operating costs in line with the assumptions contained in the Coburn DFS.”