UK-based emerging international miner London Mining Plc has increased the level of reserves at the Wadi Sawawin project in Saudi Arabia, an equal share joint venture with the Saudi state-owned National Mining Company.
The company said that the project's total inferred and indicated resources now stand at 382 million mt with 39.6 percent iron content, up 66 percent on the previous total of 230 million mt with 41 percent iron content.
Resources will now support a planned 20-year mine life for an operation producing 5 million mt per year of direct reduction pellets, the company said.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, on the basis of a pellet
production capacity of 5 million mt per year, the mine life was previously set by the company at 14 years.
The company also said that drilling at the fully owned Marampa project in
Sierra Leone is expected to result in a further estimate of resources, with an expected upgrade to the resource classification to be announced in Q3 2010.
The company plans to complete 18,000 meters of drilling in 2010 to fully define the resource on the 13.82 km2 licence area, seeking to expand total
production at the project to 5-8 million mt per year by the end of 2013.
London Mining expects to start
production at the Marampa project in Q1 2011 with the first shipment of
iron ore concentrate expected in Q2 2011.