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Projects
ATC Ferrotungsten Cookes Creek Mount Mulgine Cookes Creek Cookes Creek Vickers Well Image Gallery Mount Mulgine - Location of Mt Mulgine and Big Hill Tungsten Projects
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Mt Mulgine Tungsten Project (Hazelwood 70%, Gindalbie Metals 30%)The Mt Mulgine project is located 350km NNE of Perth and 300km ESE of the regional port of Geraldton in the mid-west region of Western Australia. Local access is via unsealed regional access roads, many of which have been upgraded to service recent mining at the nearby Minjar and Golden Grove mining operations.The total area of the project is approximately 70 km2, and consists of three granted Mining Leases, two granted Exploration Licences and four granted Prospecting Licences. Hazelwood owns a 70% interest in the tungsten and molybdenum mineralisation for the Mt Mulgine Project. Exploration History Visible zones of molybdenum rich mineralisation were mined at small scale from an adit driven into the base of Mt Mulgine between 1910 and 1920. Most of the modern exploration and evaluation of the Mt Mulgine Project occurred over a 15 year period between 1971 and 1985, involving Minefields Exploration NL and Union Carbide subsidiary ANZECO. Later exploration targeted gold mineralisation, during which the area was subject to extensive geochemical exploration drilling. During that period, extensive drilling was conducted at two main deposits; the Mulgine Hill Deposit and the Trench Deposit. More than 300 drillholes for in excess of 22,000 metres of drilling were completed to assess the tungsten and molybdenum mineralisation. Remnant drillcore samples have been retained in a well preserved archive. Several shafts and exploration drives were excavated to depths of 40 to 50 metres below the surface to obtain bulk samples for metallurgical testwork. During the metallurgical testwork programs, drillcore samples and samples from the shafts were utilised. Flotation tests on samples from the Trench Deposit demonstrated 82% recovery of tungsten to a low grade concentrate (~20% WO3). Reproducibility of testwork was, however, poor and a number of metallurgical issues were left unresolved. Molybdenum, base metal sulphides and precious metals occur in minor abundance at both deposits. Additional testwork will be required to demonstrate the reliable removal of these contaminants from the tungsten concentrates. Numerous parties have undertaken gold and precious metals exploration within the project area. Significant gold and silver mineralisation is known to occur in zones at Mt Mulgine, however the precious metal rights are presently held by another party. The Mulgine Hill Deposit was evaluated as a proposed underground mining operation and contains relatively low levels of molybdenum (generally less than 0.013% Mo). The Trench Deposit was evaluated as a proposed open pit mining operation and contains some zones of stronger molybdenum mineralisation (approximately 0.04% Mo). Evaluation studies for the Trench Deposit had considered processing to produce a low grade concentrate that would be downstream - processed into synthetic scheelite or APT (ammonium paratungstate) at a proposed plant in Western Australia. Fit with Hazelwood’s Business Hazelwood now has exposure to two very significant Australian tungsten deposits through its 100% owned Big Hill Tungsten Deposit and 70% interest in the Mt Mulgine Tungsten & Molybdenum Project. The Big Hill Deposit currently hosts Australia’s largest JORC Proved Ore Reserve and recent pre-feasibility study provides a strong case for its development as a source of feedstock for the ATC Ferrotungsten Project in Vietnam. Large amounts of drilling, metallurgical testwork and evaluation studies have previously been conducted at the Mt Mulgine Project. A well preserved drillcore archive is expected to facilitate the rapid validation of the deposits at Mt Mulgine. Previous studies had considered the production of low grade tungsten concentrates for use in a vertically integrated hardmetals processing operation . Hazelwood will evaluate Mt Mulgine as a potential source of low grade feedstock suitable for use in hardmetals production. Hazelwood’s majority owned ATC Ferrotungsten Project also has licensing for the production of sodium tungstate , a pre-cursor to hardmetals production. ATC’s strong technical team, selected from the Chinese tungsten industry, is considering bringing forward plans for the establishment of a sodium tungstate plant, following the completion of Stage 1 of the ferrotungsten plant in Vietnam. Further metallurgical testwork on material from Mt Mulgine will also assess the potential to provide a higher purity concentrate suitable for use in ferrotungsten production. |
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