Tag Archives: Riley

Venture Minerals takes ‘one-stop shop’ approach at Riley with Qube agreement

Bulk handling, Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Venture Minerals has awarded bulk material handling services company, Qube, with preferred road haulage tenderer status for the Riley iron mine, in Tasmania, Australia.

Alongside this, Venture has also engaged Qube to provide the necessary Burnie Port Services to complete the logistics solution of delivering iron ore from Riley to on board the ship.

Venture said: “Securing Qube as the complete ore transport provider for the Riley iron ore mine will increase the efficiencies for one of the project’s key cost centres as the company progresses towards becoming the next Australian iron ore producer.”

Recently, Venture Minerals commenced dry screening operations at Riley as part of the ramp-up phase of the project. Full production is expected to occur upon successful commissioning of the wet processing plant, which is subject to financing, the company said.

At a $90/t 62% iron ore price, an August 2019 feasibility study on the project returned a post-tax cash surplus of A$31 million ($23 million) over the two-year production life of the mine.

Andrew Radonjic, Venture Minerals’ Managing Director, said: “Venture is fortunate to be working with Australia’s leading provider of bulk material handling services to provide a complete logistics solution in delivering Riley iron ore from the mine gate to the port and then on board ship. This one-stop shop approach will increase efficiencies and reduce costs which is all important when mining bulk commodities.”

He added: “Qube is a professional logistics company with modern, well managed vehicles and trained, professional drivers. Qube’s safety record was also an important part of our selection criteria and their real-time monitoring of vehicle movements is impressive.”

Shaw Contracting returns to Riley iron ore project

Mineral exploration, Mineral project development, Mining project news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Venture Minerals’ plan to restart mining at the Riley iron ore project in Tasmania, Australia, is accelerating with the announcement that the ASX-listed company has awarded Shaw Contracting the preferred tenderer status for mining and processing works at the operation.

One of Tasmania’s most experienced civil and mining contractors, Shaw previously worked with Venture when it commenced mining the Riley iron ore deposit, in 2014. The company also carried out several major overburden and mining contracts for Savage River Mines (pictured) and Bluestone Mine in Tasmania.

The Riley project is on a granted mining lease, where reserves of 1.8 Mt at 57% Fe with low impurities have been outlined. Venture says around 90% of the equipment previously purchased for mining the orebody is still on hand and there is potential for producing a direct shipping ore product. The deposit is also all at surface, Venture says, and is less than 2 km from a sealed road that accesses existing rail and port facilities.

Venture has had the former operating mine on care and maintenance since August 2014 shortly after it suspended operations.

The company says it continues to work on updating the previous feasibility study at Riley so a decision to recommence mining can be made at the earliest opportunity. Following a favourable study outcome, its goal is to commence iron ore production in the December quarter of this year.

On the contract award to Shaw, Venture said: “In the awarding of preferred tenderer status to Shaw, Venture did receive strong interest from other service providers in relation to the mining and processing tender packages sought by the company. Venture is now well progressed in the process of collating this and other necessary information to form a robust view of potential project economics as it finalises the Decision to Mine study.”

The company has already undertaken extensive pre-production works at the Riley project to recommence operations, making the project a ‘quick to market’ opportunity for the company, it said.

Venture’s Managing Director, Andrew Radonjic, said: “Venture is glad to welcome back the experience and knowledge of Shaw Contracting to the Riley iron ore project. The advantages of getting Shaw to pick up from where they left off will be a huge advantage to the recommencement timeline of the mine.”