Feasibility Study of the Shymanivske Iron Ore Deposit — 2013 Technical Report

This report describes the proposed process design for a 35 Mtpa iron ore beneficiation plant producing 9.9 Mtpa of concentrate, based on metallurgical testwork and piloting.

Report context

This Feasibility Study of the Shymanivske Iron Ore Deposit for Black Iron Inc. (NI 43-101 Technical Report) presents the processing methodology for the Shymanivske beneficiation plant. The design is based on a 14-year Life of Mine (LOM) and has a nominal capacity to process 35 Mtpa of iron ore and produce 9.9 Mtpa of iron ore concentrate on a dry basis, at an overall nominal weight recovery of 28.3%. Compared to the first issue of the bankable feasibility study, two major changes are included in the design: an increase in annual throughput from 27.9 Mtpa to 35 Mtpa (ramp-up and down years excluded), and a change in cobbing technology from dry cobbing to wet cobbing.

Processing route

Overall Process Design Basis

The process is engineered as inherently safe, complying with standard industry practices to maintain a sustainable operation and minimize risk to the environment, employees, health and safety, and the community. Safety features include sump pumps, ventilation system, fire protection system, and safety shower and eyewash stations permanently connected to a source of potable water. Equipment selection is based on achieving consistent concentrate (product) quality at low capital and operating costs. The beneficiation plant is designed to a capacity of at least +10% of nominal ROM. Only proven technology for the mineral processing of iron ore is considered. Fresh water usage has been optimized, as the water system includes several sources to maximize water recovery and recirculation.

Process Design Guidelines

Two definition levels were used in the process design: nominal and design. The nominal balance represents the steady state flow at the plant average annual throughput. The design values provided are based on different mass balances created to evaluate the various extreme conditions resulting from variations in feed head grade. A maximum feed head grade of 30.4% magnetite was used. A capacity design factor of at least 10% is applied on the highest mass balance calculated feed tonnage of the major equipment. Equipment where a circulating load exceeds the requested 10% factored value was sized accordingly. Whenever maintenance issues for a given equipment had an impact on downstream operations, an additional safety margin was applied.

Process Design Criteria

The major iron oxide in the ROM ore is magnetite, with a magnetic iron grade of 19.3%, magnetite grade of 26.7%, and total iron grade of 31.1%. The ROM particle size has a top size of 1,200 mm and D80 of 632 mm. The dry processing area has a nominal throughput of 35.0 Mtpa with a target size (P80, cumulative passing) of 2.1 mm. The wet processing area produces total concentrate of 9.9 Mtpa (dry) and tailings of 25.1 Mtpa (dry). Target particle size P80 for primary grinding is 179 µm and for secondary grinding is 32 µm. Overall iron recovery is 61.9%, magnetite recovery is 93.0%, and weight yield to concentrate is 28.3%.

Product Specifications

The final concentrate specifications are: Fe greater than 68.0%, SiO2 less than 4.5%, Al2O3 (typical) 0.43%, P (typical) 0.02%, S (max) 0.05%, 80% cumulative passing size of 32 µm, and moisture of 9.0% w/w.

Dry Processing

The Ore Crushing and Stockpile (Dry Processing) area is designed to receive the ore from the mine and prepare it through a crushing/HPGR and screening circuit for processing in the beneficiation plant. The first section of the dry processing area operates 6,570 h/y (75% utilization). This section processes ROM ore at a nominal rate of 5,327 t/h and comprises the primary and secondary crushing and screening steps. The product from this section is stockpiled, then feeds the tertiary crushing/HPGR/screening step that operates at a nominal rate of 4,391 t/h (91% utilization). The product of the dry area is fine ore with a P80 of 2.1 mm.

The Dry Processing Area consists of: a primary gyratory crusher; one single deck horizontal secondary crusher feed screen; four single deck tertiary crusher feed screens; eight double deck HPGR feed banana screens; one secondary cone crusher; three tertiary cone crushers; four high-pressure grinding rolls modules (HPGRs); transfer conveyors and feeders; and a Coarse Ore Stockpile. ROM ore is transported to the primary crusher area by 325-tonne haul trucks at a P80 size of 632 mm. The Primary Crusher Dump Pocket is able to receive ore from two haul trucks delivering ore at the rate of 5,327 t/h.

Wet Processing

The wet processing circuit includes cobbing, screening, grinding, re-grinding, magnetic separation, classification, and flotation. The design basis for the process flow diagram includes four main areas: Dry Processing, Wet Processing, Concentrate and Tailings Thickening, and Concentrate Dewatering, Storage and Handling.

Metallurgical Testwork Reconciliation

Assay results from the MCM laboratory were and remain the basis for resources/reserves estimation and the mine plan. During the 2013 BFS piloting, tests performed to compare the magnetite grade measurements between SGA (primary location of piloting) and MCM determined that there was a difference in the magnetic iron (FeMag) readings between the two laboratories. The pilot sample contained more magnetite (28.9%) as compared to the mine plan (26.7%), both on an MCM measurement basis. Weight recoveries from the piloting had to be downgraded. Since all magnetite recoveries were determined during the piloting at SGA, using SGA measurements, these recoveries cannot be transposed directly onto MCM assays.

Key reported parameters

Technical qualifications

This report presents the process design basis for the Shymanivske beneficiation plant as a feasibility study. The design values provided are based on different mass balances created to evaluate various extreme conditions resulting from variations in feed head grade. These values are provided to allow proper handling of process variations and do not take into account any engineering design factors that may be required by state of the art rules of other engineering disciplines. The metallurgical testwork data from different laboratories (MCM, SGA, SGS Canada, ALS Ammtec) showed variations in magnetite measurements, and weight recoveries from the piloting had to be downgraded because the pilot sample contained more magnetite (28.9%) as compared to the mine plan (26.7%), both on an MCM measurement basis. Since all magnetite recoveries were determined during the piloting at SGA using SGA measurements, these recoveries cannot be transposed directly onto MCM assays.

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Source: Feasibility Study of the Shymanivske Iron Ore Deposit for Black Iron Inc., NI 43-101 Technical Report, Section 17 Recovery Methods.