Coburn Mineral Sands produces its first chloride ilmenite shipment from its mineral sands project in WA and is optimising recoveries and specifications of the remaining zircon and rutile products to maximise sale pricing.
The first shipment of chloride ilmenite product has been made, marking a significant milestone in the commissioning of the Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) at Strandline Resources Limited’s (ASX: STA) Coburn mineral sands project.
The commissioning and ramp-up of Coburn’s downstream MSP included this initial shipment of ilmenite. Critical minerals such as zircon, titanium (rutile and ilmenite), and a zircon in concentrate product (ZIC) containing monazite rare earths are extracted from the heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) at Coburn’s Wet Concentration Plant (WCP) and then separated at the MSP.
At the Port of Geraldton, a bulk shipment of about 6,000 metric tonnes of ilmenite (a titanium ore) was delivered. High-quality titanium dioxide TiO2 is typically utilised in pigments for paint, paper, ink, and plastic applications, and this consignment is bound for Strandline’s offtake customer in the United States for that purpose.
The MSP’s equipment and process circuits are being commissioned and tuned to maximise zircon and rutile recoveries, specifications, and inventory levels.
Coordinating the second ilmenite cargo, which is expected in September or October depending on the offtake customer’s shipping timetable, has already begun. The company intends to keep sending out shipments of HMC or ZIC while the MSP is being commissioned.