Western Desert Resources Opens Roper Bar Hematite Iron Ore Mine

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Perth, Australia)--Western Desert Resources (ASX:WDR) (Wayville, South Australia) recently completed its Roper Bar Hematite iron ore project and has begun production. The Roper Bar is the biggest mine to open in the Northern Territory in 20 years, with an investment of about $159 million (AUD$180 million). It is approximately 136 miles (220 kilometres) east of Mataranka, Northern Territory.

Western Desert Resources will use basic crushing and grinding to produce 3 million tons per year of direct shipping iron ore (DSO), for approximately eight to 12 years. The company recently announced the first shipment of DSO was in transit.

"We have come a long way from discovery to production, within a timeframe and budget that we are extremely proud of," said Norm Gardner, the managing director of Western Desert Resources. "Anyone who knows what it takes to see a bulk commodity project through to production will be aware of the huge effort that is made by the many people involved in the project. We are now focused on delivering our 'Roper Red' iron ore to the market."

As part of an offtake agreement, Noble Resources International Pte Limited (Singapore) will receive the first five years of the DSO product.

The time taken to move the project from development into production was extraordinary, considering it required construction of a 102-mile (165-kilometre) haul road, which included 10 road bridges. Construction of the haul road employed approximately 400 personnel over 15 months. Other infrastructure included a 150-person accommodation camp at the mine site.

Western Desert Resources will continually evaluate possible expansions to secure the long-term future of the Roper Bar mine. Given that Western Desert Resources has a 20-year agreement with Bing Bong Port Authorities, it is no surprise that current thoughts of expansion are in the range of 5 million to 7.5 million tonnes per year.

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