Australian iron ore producer Grange Resources Limited (Grange) has announced that it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement for the sale of its 51 percent share of the Bukit Ibam magnetite mine, located in Malaysia, to its partner in the project Malaysian mining company Esperance Mining Sdn. Bhd. (Esperance) for a cash payment of MYR 10 million (US$ 3.13 million).
Before the sale agreement, Grange Minerals Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned Malaysian subsidiary of Grange, held 51 percent project equity in the Bukit Ibam joint venture with Esperance. The Bukit Ibam joint venture comprises the former Bukit Ibam iron ore mine in Pahang State, Malaysia. The mine operated from 1962 and produced approximately 22 million metric tons of haematite and magnetite ore before closure in 1970.
Exploration completed by the joint venture delineated a measured, indicated and inferred resource of 831,000 metric tons grading 36.7 percent Fe. This resource is expected to provide a mine life of approximately three years. A new processing plant capable of producing 100,000 metric tons per year of magnetite concentrate was commissioned at Bukit Ibam in early 2009.