GROUP 6 Metals has reached another milestone at the Dolphin Tungsten Mine having now made its first shipment of about 13 tonnes of tungsten concentrate.
The processing plant achieved commercial production earlier this month.
The company expects to receive 85 per cent of the proceeds from this sale and the first shipment export will trigger payment under an offtake agreement the producer secured before production.
The company has already secured offtake for just under 60 per cent of the mine’s production for the first four years.
As previously reported, Group 6 Metals is now looking to grow its operation with an extensive drill and blasting program set to restart operations at the Dolphin open-cut mine and provide additional run of mine ore to the plant.
Drilling has now commenced on the north cut back of the open cut ahead of the initial blasting, with the company expecting “Run of Mine” (ore in its natural unprocessed state), to be delivered to the plant by early August to increase throughput and ore head grade.
The company said that this first shipment of concentrate is a significant step towards building cash flow to support the next phase of the company’s growth.
“Commercial sales at the DTM are well timed as the tungsten price remains strong and global forecast demand for tungsten is growing,” chief executive and managing director Keith McKnight said.
“We are very pleased with the performance of the plant, which is producing concentrate grade well above the target grade of 63 per cent considering the ore currently being processed is the lower grade remnant ore at 0.3%WO3.
“Once we commence processing of ROM ore, we expect higher grade ore which increases concentrate production for the plant.”
Resources Minister Felix Ellis, has congratulated Group 6 Metals Limited (G6M) on dispatching its first batch of tungsten concentrate from the Dolphin mine on King Island.
“King Island has the highest-grade tungsten deposit of significant size in the Western world.
“Essential to steelmaking, electronics and defence manufacturing, tungsten is a critical mineral the world cannot do without.
“The successful processing of more than 10,000 tonnes of ore into concentrate ready for export is a significant achievement for G6M and is a real credit to the whole team at the mine.”