Wonnerup

The Wonnerup mineral sands open cut mining operation is located on the Abba River, about 10 kilometres north east of Busselton in south west Western Australia, about 190 kilometres south west of Perth, on Sues Road off the Bussel Highway.

The mineralised ore body at Wonnerup, that contains titanium, monazite and zircon averages around 2.7 metres in thickness and is 350 metres in length and 200 metres in width.

Wonnerup Project Owner is Cristal Mining Australia Limited

The Wonnerup mine is fully owned by Cristal Mining Australia Limited, one of the world's top ten mineral sands mining companies when ranked by volume of production. Cristal Mining is owned by Cristal, the second largest producer of titanium dioxide in the world.

Wonnerup Originally Mined by Cable Sands (WA) Pty Ltd

The Wonnerup mine was the 20th mine operated by Cable Sands (WA) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary company belonging to Cristal, that had been mining mineral sands in the south west of Western Australia since 1956.

Cristal Mining has Been Operating the Wonnerup Mine Since 2013

Cristal Mining has been operating the Wonnerup mine since May, 2013, after waiting three years to be granted a mining licence approval by the Western Australian State Government. It is expected that the mine will produce a total of 370,000 tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate in the four years to 2017. The ore is mined at a rate of around 2.3 million tonnes a year. Initial separation of heavy minerals takes place on site before it is taken to the company's dry separation plant at Bunbury.

Cristal Mining to Mine the South West for the Next 20 Years

The Wonnerup project, that employs around 60 personnel, including contractors, is also developing the Wonnerup North and Wonnerup South, heavy mineral sands ore bodies. However, the Wonnerup Project is only one of five other mines Cristal Mining has scheduled to develop in the South West that will ensure the company continues to mine in the area for the next twenty years.

The Wonnerup North project is currently undergoing environmental assessment. This deposit is located near the current operation and it is being planned to bring this project into production in 2017 when the original Wonnerup mine becomes unproductive. The Wonnerup North project is expected to have a life of mine of five years.

Cristal Mining has submitted a mining proposal and environmental protection assessment to the Western Australian government to obtain permission to mine the Wonnerup South heavy mineral sands deposit. It is expected that the granting of these approvals will allow development to start in 2016 subject to the landowner agreeing.

Cristal Mining is committed to undertake rehabilitation work on sections of the Abba River and Sabina River foreshores, as well as provide 35 hectares of regenerated land to be used for conservation purposes.

Parent company, 'Cristal,' (National Titanium Dioxide Company Limited) is the world's leading producer of titanium chemicals and the second largest producer of titanium dioxide, it operates seven plants in six countries throughout the world employing close to 4,000 personnel worldwide.

The Wonnerup Project is situated on private property covering an area of 470 hectares that is owned by Cristal Mining. The project site is to be completely rehabilitated when mining of the area is completed, as it has been proposed that the rehabilitated land could be used as a future buffer zone, when the Busselton Airport is expanded.