A MAJOR titanium and zircon mine to be developed near the rich cropping centre of Donald in the southern Wimmera, Victoria, has awarded a US$135 engineering and construction contract to a Chinese company.
China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Donald Mineral Sands mine being developed by Astron Corporation Ltd.
The contract sets out the process for supply and installation of equipment for the project’s mining plant as well as assistance with funding the project. The broad terms of the contract specify the total contract price of US$135 million and includes all design, procurement, civil engineering and construction, installation, training, commissioning, technical service and other works.
Donald Mineral Sands is required to contribute 15 per cent to the costs of the project, estimated at about US$18 million, and is to acquire all necessary rights and regulatory approvals. Astron is planning on commencing production at the Donald mineral sands open cut mine in the first quarter of 2016 and the mine has an expected life of 31 years.
Following extraction, minerals will be processed to produce heavy mineral concentrate which will in turn be processed through an on-site plant to recover zircon, rutile, ilmenite and leucoxene.
Astron is the largest zirconium chemical producer in the world, and specialises in developing technology for, and the production of, advanced materials and advanced chemicals from mineral sands.
