NZ offshore ironsands explorer Trans Tasman Resources (TTRL) believes a 10m tonne a year steel mill using local ironsands as feedstock could be established as the world’s largest and most competitive plant of its type, either in Asia or NZ. TTRL keeps a low profile in NZ, but its latest thinking is outlined on the MED’s Crown Minerals website, and includes fresh information not only the scale of the resource it believes NZ could exploit, but also some of the underlying economics of a steel production operation which could be between five and 10 times cheaper to run than globally competitive alternatives operating in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

TTRL has reported discovery of an initial economically recoverable resource of about 1.2bn tonnes of ironsands at 60% iron content, mostly off the south Taranaki-Wanganui area, in relatively shallow waters and with resources spanning between 20m and 140m deep. An initial conceptual study shows the potential exists to develop a 10m tonnes a year steel mill to produce slabs and billets for export to Asia and China. TTRL announced in April it was planning an extensive exploration programme after attracting an unspecified capital contribution from a US private equity fund, Denham Capital, which has become a 48% partner in the venture, which TTRL kicked off in late 2007.A further 9bn tonnes of recoverable sands, at 60% iron concentration, is estimated also to be available, with substantial volumes of vanadium and titanium also available as by-products.

- – -NOT A SUBSCRIBER? – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - –

NZ’S LEADING INFORMATION SOURCE FOR ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE CRUCIAL ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT ISSUES AHEAD.

NEW ZEALAND ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS WEEK
Powerful and up-to-date, it covers Emissions Trading Scheme, Climate Change & Carbon Trading, the Resource Management Act, the Kyoto Protocol, Energy Supply Security, Electricity Generation, Renewable Energy, Oil & Gas Exploration, Energy Efficiency, Water Management, Sustainability. Covers policy announcements, draft legislation, amendments to Acts and regulations. Also includes NZ Energy & Environment Weekly Digest. Published every Tuesday. 46 issues per year.

http://nzenergy-environment.co.nz/home/special-introductory-offer
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Extensive environmental studies will be necessary to establish the sustainability of a potential offshore mining operation, but TTRL says it is confident there would be much lower environmental impacts from offshore mining than onshore, as well as much lower processing costs. Offshore dredging would require no chemicals or tailings dams and would be located well away from reefs, rocky outcrops and other environmentally sensitive features. It would target paleolithic river mouths and beaches from ancient times when sea levels were lower, far from today’s coastline. The company is also applying to prospect further offshore from south Taranaki-Wanganui.

TTRL says it would process dredged sands using an offshore plant, send the processed material as a slurry for shipment direct to Asia, or shuttle it to a dedicated local onshore steel mill. If developed in NZ, a large integrated steel mill could employ 3000 NZers directly and be a customer for NZ and Aust coking coal. Estimated capital cost per tonne of capacity of an offshore NZ mine could be as low as $US14, versus $US100 a tonne for BHP and Rio Tinto mines in WA, with the absence of need for a deep sea port or rail facilities being major advantages.

 Copyright © Media Information Ltd
NZ Energy & Environment Business Week