Eneabba

The Eneabba heavy mineral sand mining operation is located near the town of Eneabba, approximately, 150 kilometres south of Geraldton and 278 kilometres north of Perth, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The mineral sand mining operation that commenced at Eneabba in 1977 became wholly owned by Iluka Resources in 1988. The company was established 1988 as a result of a merger between the titanium business branch of Renison Goldfields Consolidated (RGC) and Western Sands.

Eneabba Sand Mine is Owned and Operated by Iluka Resources

Iluka Resources, is primarily a heavy mineral sand mining company, that focuses on exploration, mine development, mine operation and marketing. The company is one of the world's main zircon producers and is the world's main producer of titanium dioxide, rutile and synthetic rutile. The company mines heavy mineral sands and separates the processed concentrate into the various minerals that make up its zircon, ilmenite and rutile products. Some of the ilmenite it produces is further processed into synthetic rutile.

Western Sands, the original owner of the Eneabba sand mining project, was formed in 1954 and began actual sand mining near Capel, in Western Australia, when it began mining the Yoganup heavy mineral sand deposit.

Slump in Mineral Sand Demand Forces Eneabba Into Temporary Closure in 2013

A significant slump in the demand for heavy mineral sands in late 2012, caused Iluka Resources to announce, in January, 2013, that it was shedding 65 jobs at the Eneabba mine. The reason for closing the Eneabba operation was the effect on the company of a slowdown in demand that had resulted in a 50 percent drop in sales during the previous financial year. The company also announced at the time that the mine was not being closed permanently but was being placed on 'idle mode' until economic circumstances improved and it was not the first time this type of decision had been taken in relation to the Eneabba operation. The Eneabba sand mine has traditionally been used by Iluka Resources as a flexible operation that was able to quickly respond to market changes.

Heavy mineral sand Reserves at the Eneabba mine are currently listed as, 'Probable.' A conservative status the company commonly uses to classify its varying mineral Reserves, a practice that is vastly different to that of most of the more junior mining companies. The Eneabba Mineral Reserves is classified as 'Probable' as quite large quantities of iron still lie is some of the previous mined out areas within the tenements. The region is still regarded as being a world class Mineral Reserve.

Eneabba IPL North Project to Extend Life of Mine for a Further Nine Years

The Eneabba IPL North project, that involves an extension of open cut sand mining at the Eneabba mine, is located south and east of the town of Eneabba and to the north of the existing mine access road. The Eneabba IPL Project will have a life of between six and nine years, in which time it is planned to extract 2.1 million tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate, mostly titanium and zircon.

The Eneabba IPL North heavy mineral sands deposit contains the highest in-ground value along with having the longest life of mine. It is to be developed before other deposits and will become the Eneabba mine's base load production source. The deposit will be subjected to a sand processing rate of around 600 tonnes an hour and will produce approximately 350 kiloton of heavy mineral sand annually.