A $275 million mineral sands mine has been officially opened and is expected to sustain 600 ongoing jobs over its 13-year mine life.
Iluka Resources and Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan opened the Cataby mineral sands mine in WA, which is expected to produce an average of 200,000 tonnes of synthetic rutile, tonnes of zircon and 30,000 tonnes of rutile per year.
The company has the capacity to produce around 320,000 tonnes of synthetic rutile every year through its processing facilities at Capel, around 350 kilometres south of Cataby.
Heavy mineral concentrate from Cataby will be processed at Iluka’s Narngulu mineral separation at Geraldton, around 250 kilometres north of Cataby, to produce rutile and zircon.
McGowan commended Iluka on the opening of the Cataby operation and for being a significant creator of jobs in WA’s Mid-West and South-West regions.
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“It’s exciting to see Western Australia’s continued success as a producer of mineral sands.”
The project was approved in December 2018 and began production in the second quarter of 2019.
Iluka is also working on the Lanti and Gangama expansions in Sierra Leone for commissioning in mid-2019.
These two projects, along with some decommissioning works, are expected to contribute to an estimated $330 million capital expenditure for Iluka in 2019.