Image Resources NL (ASX:IMA) 90% Increase In Eucla Basin Tenure

As part of its ongoing heavy mineral exploration in the Eucla Basin, Image Resources NL (ASX:IMA) (PINK:IMREF) has applied for three tenements covering 775km2 approximately 80km west of its Serpentine Lakes tenements and adjacent to its Wanna South and Forrest Lakes tenements. This acquisition brings Image's tenement holdings in this part of the Eucla Basin to 1,623km2.

The applications cover two separate shoreline features identified from digital elevation modelling. The northernmost feature consists of approximately 40km of palaeo coastline forming a curved south westerly facing bay on the Late Eocene-age Barton Shoreline and is covered by two exploration licences termed Victoria, totalling 420km2 in area. The Barton Shoreline hosts the Cyclone and Cyclone Extended mineral sand deposits further to the east.

Image has recently announced a global resource estimate for Cyclone and Cyclone Extended of 625Mt containing 8.79 million tonnes of HM, including 2.4 million tonnes of zircon and 990,000 tonnes of rutile at a 0.75% HM cut off (IMA ASX release 23 July 2010). Of this resource, Image holds an estimated 148Mt containing 2.17 million tonnes of HM, including 445,000 tonnes of zircon and 188,000 tonnes of rutile. The remainder is owned by Diatreme Resources (ASX:DRX), which recently announced the signing of an MOU with Chinese firm BaoTi to progress the development of the Cyclone deposit. Image is encouraged by this announcement and is targeting its exploration on a repetition of the Cyclone deposit, which is approximately 10km in length and is formed in a southwest facing bay similar to that at the Victoria project.

The second shoreline feature is covered by a single tenement (Forrest West) of 355km2 adjacent to Image's existing Forrest Lakes project. The Forrest West tenement covers a section of the Ooldea Shoreline down drift from a large palaeo drainage and estuary. The target area consists of lunette dunes formed on the eastern edge of the estuary and a potential headland to the east (down drift) of the drainage. The prospective area extends over a strike length of 30km. The target mineralisation in this area is either a typical strand type deposit along the shoreline or an analogue of the Notrab deposit held by Dominion Mining (ASX:DOM) (PINK:DMNOY) which is in a lunette environment and situated 50km north of Iluka's Jacinth-Ambrosia deposits. Iluka's Jacinth-Ambrosia deposits are situated on the Ooldea Shoreline in the South Australian part of the Eucla Basin.

Recent discoveries by the Red Metal-Bemax joint venture continue to highlight the potential of the Eucla Basin for the discovery of further world class heavy mineral deposits. Image views this central part of the Eucla Basin as presenting an exciting opportunity to replicate the successes further east in South Australia, with the Cyclone discovery potentially indicating a second high value heavy mineral province in the Eucla Basin. On completion of permitting Image plans to carry out aircore drilling with the aim of augmenting its existing discovery in this prospective region.

About Image Resources NL

Image Resources NL (ASX:IMA) is a mineral sands focused miner and supplier of critical minerals titanium dioxide, zircon and monazite containing rare earth elements for sale into global markets. The Company has a demonstrated track record of successful project development and operations at its Boonanarring project located 80km north of Perth in the infrastructure rich North Perth Basin.

Boonanarring was a high-grade, high-zircon, low capital cost mine development that was constructed on-time and on-budget in CY2018 and then ramped up to name plate capacity in the second month of operation and went on to operate profitably through Q3 2023. Debt for the project was paid off early in February 2021 and the Company paid dividends to shareholders in April 2021 and April 2022.

Image completed critical construction of the Atlas project in January 2025 and started commissioning and achieved first HMC production in February 2025 and will be ramping up production and revenue from Atlas in Q2 CY2025.

Chapter 1 operating strategy for Image involved the transition from advanced explorer to active miner in CY2018, operating a single mine and producing a single product (HMC) sold into a single jurisdiction (China). Chapter 2 strategy (post Atlas) will focus on the Company's growth and sustainability ambitions which includes the operation of multiple mines in parallel, producing multiple products (separating HMC), and selling into a global market.

The Company is also investigating a significant value adding step of upgrading its ilmenite to synthetic rutile using a lower GHG emissions, innovative process which Image has provisionally patented, and aims to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of this novel process in CY2025-26.

 

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