J U LY 2 0 1 7

Heavy mineral sandsOpportunities in New South Wales, Australia

To Adelaide

V I C T O R I A

SO

UT

H A

US

TR

AL

I A

Murray Basin

Delamerian Orogen

CurnamonaCraton

Campaspe

Massidon

Magic

Atlas

CopiNorth

Jacks Tank

Crayfish

Birthday Gift

Nepean

GinkgoSnapper

West Balranald

Wentworth

BrokenHill

Balranald

Deniliquin

Hay

Ivanhoe

Moulamein

REFERENCE

Heavy mineral sand occurrenceSmallMediumLargeVery largeOperating mineDepositStrand line depositApproximate extent ofLoxton-Parilla SandsRailway Major road, sealedMajor road, unsealedGas pipeline

Atlas

Ginkgo

100 km

N

N E W S O U T H W A L E S

Overview

• The Murray Basin of New South Wales (NSW) is a world-class heavy mineral (HM) sand province.

• Major mines are in production, with several projects under development.

• There is outstanding potential for the development of known resources and for the discovery of large HM sand deposits.

Geological setting

The Murray Basin is an intracratonic sedimentary basin known for its high quality coarse-grained rutile, zircon and ilmenite. It covers 300 000 km2 of NSW, Victoria and South Australia. The Loxton–Parilla Sands, which extends over much of this area, hosts major heavy mineral sand deposits and is highly prospective for further discovery.

The Murray Basin of NSW is an emerging mineral sands province. The basin currently hosts over 115 Mt of heavy mineral sands. This inventory (substantially increased since 2014) totals an estimated:

72.1 Mt ilmenite (FeO.TiO2)20.78 Mt rutile (TiO2)15.1 Mt zircon (ZrO2.SiO2)7.4 Mt leucoxene (FeO.TiO2)

It also has potential for monazite (Ce,La,Nd,Th)PO4 — prospective for heavy rare earths — and xenotime (YPO4).

Highlights

• Coarse-grained, linear strand-line deposits (e.g. Birthday Gift)• High-grade deposits e.g. West Balranald and Nepean• Finer-grained, dune deposits with high rutile content (e.g.

Crayfish)• Deposits that are partly or entirely amenable to dry mining• Submarine sand barriers off the east coast of NSW with largely

untested potential

www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au

Further information

The Advanced Mineral Projects & Exploration Highlights in NSW Map summarises recent exploration activities and ore reserve/resource announcements. This map is updated every six months and is available at www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au

Ginkgo heavy mineral sands mine (courtesy of Cristal Mining Australia).

Titanium feedstock end uses

Titanium metal 4%Other 6%

Titanium pigment 90%

Titanium pigment end uses

Architectural coatings (paint) 36%

Other coatings (paint) 22%

Plastics 22%

Paper 9%

Other 5%

Inks 4%

Fibres 2%

Source: http://argex.ca/documents/Cormark%20Argex%20Report%20(9-Jan-13)%20.pdf

Zircon end uses

Ceramics 54%

Foundry 12%

Refractories 12%

Chemicals 22%

Source: http://www.indmin.com/TiO2Zircon.html

Project highlights Deposit name Current resources and reserves (JORC) Total contained HM (‘000 t)*

Ginkgo (measured) 135 Mt @ 2.9% HM, 43 Mt (indicated) @ 1.99% HM –

Snapper (measured) 117 Mt @ 5.4% HM –

Atlas (indicated) 11 Mt @ 15.4% HM 1 740 200

Campaspe (indicated) 99 Mt @ 4.7% HM 4 653 000

West Balranald (measured, indicated & inferred) 35.8 Mt @ 33.8% HM 12 100 000

West Balranald & Nepean (combined inferred resource) 50.1 Mt @ 32.2% HM 16 300 000

Jacks Tank North (inferred) 13.0 Mt @ 1.9% HM (coarse-grained) 247 000

Jacks Tank South (inferred) 41 Mt @ 2.6% HM (fine-grained) 1 066 000

Crayfish 144 Mt @ 1.34% HM 1 929 600

Massidon (indicated & inferred) 429.9 Mt @ 2.49% HM 10 704 510

Copi North (indicated & inferred) 14.2 Mt @ 6.6% HM 937 200

Magic (inferred) 15 Mt @ 3.7% HM 555 000

* Total heavy minerals calculated only from resource quoted above (not necessarily total valuable heavy minerals)

Heavy mineral sands production in New South Wales (1988–2016)

Tonn

es

Financial year (ending 30 June)

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

0

100 000

120 000RutileZircon

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Ilmenite production statistics not shown.Source: ABS, NSW royalty statistics

Contact: mra.info@industry.nsw.gov.au | +61 2 4931 6689

Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at time of writing (July 2017), using publicly available information. Because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date. The information contained in this publication may not be or may no longer be aligned with government policy nor does the publication indicate or imply government policy. No warranty about the accuracy, currency or completeness of any information contained in this document is inferred (including, without limitation, any information in the document provided by third parties). While all reasonable care has been taken in the compilation, to the extent permitted by law, the State of New South Wales (including the NSW Department of Planning and Environment) exclude all liability for the accuracy or completeness of the information, or for any injury, loss, or damage whatsoever (including without limitation liability for negligence and consequential losses) suffered by any person acting, or purporting to act, in reliance upon anything contained herein. Users should rely upon their own advice, skills, interpretation and experience in applying information contained in this publication. The product trade names in this publication are supplied on the understanding that no preference between equivalent products is intended and that the inclusion of a product name does not imply endorsement by the Department over any equivalent product.