Off shore iron sand project in New Zealand

TENEMENTS 

TTR has obtained a prospecting license giving exclusive mineral rights over 6319 km2 of seabed located off the west coast of the north island of New Zealand.  In addition TTR has lodged an application for an additional 2315 km located to seaward of the southern tenements.

TTR tenements  are highly prospective for  iron sands which contain large amounts of iron (~60% Fe in weight )  and  also valuable  titanium (~8% TiO2)  and vanadium (~0.5% V2O5).

WORLD CLASS  RESOURCE POTENTIAL 

TTR's initial prospecting work suggests that a very large and very low cost iron ore resource could exist in its tenements. This view is supported by over 200 surface and core samples and also magnetic and seismic reflection surveys. 

An initial 3D mineral resource model, derived from an existing aeromagnetic survey covering less than 12% of TTR's tenements, indicates the presence of an economically recoverable resource equivalent to a minimum of 364 MTonnes of concentrate @ 60% Fe in weight, and a likely resource equivalent to 1200 MTonnes @ 60% Fe. The model points to a very shallow resource , located between 0 and 40m below the seabed with no overbuden, ideal for a low cost dredge mining operation.

In order to prove  the potential of the resource and comply with JORC reporting standards additional exploration work is still required, in particular extensive shallow drilling and sampling. 

Based on the existing geo-physical logical data , TTR is targeting an initial minimum JORC compliant mineral resource equivalent to 1 billion tonnes @ 60% Fe within 2 years. The potential exists to upgrade  this initial target very significantly in the coming months as more geological data becomes available.

ULTRA-LOW COST MINING OPERATIONS 

TTR is considering an off shore dredge mining operation combined with an offshore beneficiation plant located on a fixed rig. The iron sands will be dredged from the seabed and transported to the beneficiation plant  before being slurried to a capesize vessels and shipped to Asia, or used locally in New Zealand in a dedicated on shore steel mill (preferred option). The tailings (waste stream) will be returned to the seabed in a progressive and controlled manner to minimize the environmental impact.

Early technical and economic modelling confirms that the envisaged mining operation would be ultra-low cost and much more environmentally sustainable  than comparable existing land borne mining operations.

In particular a dredging operation does not require any tailings dam and would not use any harmful chemicals (surfactants...). The impact on the fauna and the beaches can be  minimized by operating the dredges in a controlled  manner  and avoiding sensitive coastal areas (easily achieved because of  the scale of the deposits) . Furthermore, the iron sands contain valuable titanium and vanadium that will be mined and recovered with the iron ore in one integrated operation, which would have  a much smaller environmental footprint than three seperate mines (current situation).

From an economic perspective, dredging is a much cheaper way to move sediment than traditional mining as there is no blasting  or crushing required. The capital costs required are many orders of magnitude lower that for a traditional mining operation because no heavy infrastructure (deep sea port , heavy gauge rail...) is required. In addition, the mining operation can be scaled up progressively by adding dredge ships , limiting the risk exposure for investors.

The chart below illustrates the structural cost advantage of iron sand dredge mining versus low cost traditional mining.