Nameplate Throughput Achieved at Keysbrook
Perth, Dec 3, 2015 AEST (ABN Newswire) - MZI Resources Ltd (
ASX:MZI) is pleased to announce that the Wet Concentrator Plant (WCP) at its flagship Keysbrook Project, 70km south of Perth, has exceeded nameplate throughput capacity over five consecutive days and has satisfied the requirements of the performance test component needed for WCP commissioning.
- Keysbrook Wet Concentrator Plant exceeds nameplate throughput
- WCP now under MZI control following handover by GR Engineering Services
- Keysbrook HMC being fed full-time through the Picton Mineral Separation Plant
- Project on track to achieve first sales in December 2015
Consequently, operational responsibility for the WCP plant contractor has been formally handed over to MZI’s Keysbrook operations team, and the EPC contractor, GR Engineering Services Ltd (GR Engineering), has now demobilised its workforce from the Keysbrook site.
The nameplate capacity milestone comes approximately one month after WCP commissioning commenced in late October 2015, and is a significant step toward successfully completing the commissioning and ramp-up of the Keysbrook Project to full commercial production.
MZI Managing Director Trevor Matthews said “The rapid ramp-up of the Keysbrook WCP to nameplate capacity in less than a month is testament to the diligent and disciplined approach to construction and commissioning adopted by our Keysbrook team and the lead contractor GR Engineering from day one. With commissioning of the MFU and Picton facilities in progress, we are well on track to complete our ramp-up to full production during December, further extending MZI’s excellent record of meeting key milestones on budget and ahead of schedule.”
Transmin Pty Ltd (Transmin) and MZI continue to work together to complete commissioning of the Mine Feed Unit (MFU).
Commissioning of MZI’s custom-built processing annexe at Doral’s Picton Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) is continuing, with Keysbrook HMC now being fed through the MSP on a full-time basis.
Production of the Company’s first saleable leucoxene and zircon products from the Picton MSP was achieved on 6 November on a trial basis, ahead of schedule and within budget.
As indicated previously, the Company is now targeting to achieve its first product sales in December 2015, well ahead of the previous sales target in early 2016. Keysbrook is designed to produce approximately 96,000 dry tonnes of leucoxene products and zircon concentrate annually.
About MZI Resources Ltd
MZI Resources Ltd (ASX:MZI) is a mineral sands company focused on the high value minerals of zircon, rutile and leucoxene based in Perth, Western Australia. Its flagship operating asset is the Keysbrook Mineral Sands Project, located 70km south of Perth. At the Keysbrook mine, mineral sands are mined and processed to produce heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) which is processed into final products under a toll treating arrangement with Doral Mineral Sands Pty Ltd at the Picton Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) near Bunbury.
The Keysbrook mine hosts a world-class zircon / leucoxene ore body with total Ore Reserves equivalent to over 15 years of production at design output rates, and total Mineral Resources equivalent to over 30 years of production. Production commenced in late 2015, making the Keysbrook Project Australia’s first – and the world’s largest - primary producer of high value leucoxene.
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