Venture
Minerals has named previous contractor Shaw Contracting the preferred
tenderer for the Riley iron ore mine restart project in Tasmania.
The
Riley mine has been on care and maintenance since August 2014, shortly
after Venture suspended its operations.
Australian
Mining understands that the favourable iron ore prices drove the
Riley mine into a restart.
The
iron ore price is almost currently 70 per cent higher in Australian Dollar
terms than upon the closing of Riley, following the recent tragedies at
Vale’s mines in Brazil that cut the global iron ore supply, according to
the company.
Venture
is confident the current price levels will be sustained for at least the
near term.
“Venture
is glad to welcome back the experience and knowledge of Shaw Contracting
to the Riley iron ore project,” Venture managing director Andrew
Radonjic said.
“The
advantages of getting Shaw to pick up from where they left off will be a
huge advantage to the recommencement timeline of the mine.”
Venture
plans to restart production at Riley in the fourth quarter of this year.
The company has reportedly achieved considerable progress on the mine
study update as it nears an “imminent decision” to recommence mining.
Venture
has undertaken pre-production works to grab a “quick to market”
opportunity for the company. It also reached an off-take agreement with
one of the world’s largest iron ore traders, Prosperity Steel United
Singapore in May.
The
company continues to collate tender packages to form a robust view of
potential project economics of the mine.
Source:
Australian Mining
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