Cradle Resources has achieved another major milestone in its strategy to develop the worldclass Panda Hill niobium project in Tanzania, with key metallurgical tests returning outstanding results. The relatively limited sources of global supply – three producers account for 99% of world supply – and the metal’s key role in producing high-quality steel means that the niobium market has different dynamics to conventional steel and steel-feed industries.

This project is reported in the current issue of International Mining Project News (IMPN – next issue April 29). New subscribers to IMPN are eligible to a 50% discount for one of Whittle Consulting’s Money Mining & Sustainability Seminars around the world, see http://www.whittleconsulting.com.au/moneymining.html Contact [email protected]

Back at Panda Hill, these most recent tests demonstrate that its concentrate can be used to produce a high-quality ferro-niobium product, which is in turn sold directly to steel mills to produce high strength, low alloy steel products.

Strong metallurgical results and first niobium production pave way for project funding. Highlights

•          Laboratory-scale metallurgy tests show the Panda Hill concentrate will enable the production of high-quality ferro-niobium (FeNb) buttons

•          First Panda Hill ferro-niobium has been produced, recording a niobium content of 69% – in line with steel industry specifications, with further production tests underway

•          Niobium is one of the “new age” metals being sought to produce high-end steel products for construction, pipelines and car manufacturers

•          The results confirm a readily marketable product and will facilitate off-take agreement discussions

•          Release of a definitive feasibility study is imminent; Construction is scheduled to start later this year for first production in 201.

These first FeNb production tests established that the buttons made from Panda Hill concentrate contained low levels of impurities, further underpinning the quality of product.

Niobium is used to harden and strengthen steel and also to make it more corrosion-resistant.

Construction is scheduled to start later this year with first production expected in 2018.

The Panda Hill niobium project is located in the Mbeya region, near the borders with Zambia and Malawi, approximately 650 km west of the capital Dar es Salaam. The industrial city of Mbeya is situated only 35 km from the project area and will be a significant service and logistics centre for the project. Mbeya has a population of approximately 280,000 people, located on the main highway and railway to the capital Dar es Salaam.