38 | Multi-mineral approach a point of difference Ray Mudgway: “It’s not only good business but it shows real intent to operate sustainably.” Westland Mineral Sands REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Westland Mineral Sands Group is taking a different approach to mining with a multi mineral approach placing a focus on all valuable minerals contained, not just ilmenite, for increased revenue. This notably includes garnet and Rare Earth Elements (REEs), which were considered waste by previous explorers in the region. “There are small amounts of REEs in the mineral sands but they are very valuable as they are used in magnets, electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines. So they will play a key role in de-carbonisation,” says Westland Mineral Sands managing director Ray Mudgway. Westland Mineral Sands has formed a joint venture co-operation agreement with New Zealand Institute for Minerals to Materials Research Limited (NZIMMR) as an exemplar partner. Ray says the aim is to jointly specialise in the research and development of the Heavy Mineral Sands (HMS) resources of New Zealand and researching and development of processes around separating REEs that are contained within the country’s HMS. Westland Mineral Sands owns 8500ha of licenses across the West Coast stretching south of Fox Glacier to Karamea with varying degrees of REE depending on location. Importantly it’s exploration for REE could make New Zealand one of the key REE providers in the free world. “So it’s a major strategic opportunity for New Zealand and the West Coast and for a low carbon future,” says Ray. The company is further assisting New Zealand de-carbonisation efforts by shipping direct – rather than transporting product by road and rail. It is also investigating investing in electric power to replace diesel generators to run the plant. “It’s not only good business but it shows real intent to operate sustainably.” He says Westland Mineral Sands Group is owned by a group of six shareholders, the majority of which are either West Coasters or have a strong connection to the region meaning the company is dedicated to growing the entire West Coast – not just its own business. He says the business plan consists of three distinct phases that are grounded in pragmatic and achievable milestones that are under the direct control of the company. The first phase is to establish the trade by extracting HMS from company owned private land holdings situated within 20km of the port, which it is already doing. Annual tonnages are starting at 100,000 and will increase swiftly to 1,000,000 with sustained volumes for over 50 years. Ray says that phase one establishes the company as a credible global supplier of ilmenite, which is critical for its on-going growth. Immediate profitability and strong cashflows are achieved through formal service agreements with third party providers, and by leveraging the existing infrastructure asset base in the company. The second phase is to grow the company by expanding extraction in North and Central Westland on company permitted sites to increase volumes within close proximity to the Port. Ray says this expands the markets to include high-grade garnet, Rare Earth Elements and other minerals and these company owned resources will increase production to 1,000,000 tonnes per annum. The third and final phase under the current business plan is to optimise the company by considering Coast wide options to sustain operations for 50 years. Options include purchasing more land for mining or entering into royalty agreements with third party private landowners. Another option is to establish a secondary dry processing plant that separates the various minerals prior to export which significantly increases the export value of the products from New Zealand. “Demand for the contained minerals has increased significantly over the past few decades while global supply has stagnated as resources are extinguished globally. “We have the expertise, operational capability, transport capacity and investor confidence to make the export of heavy mineral sands a reality for the West Coast.” T T Karen Phelps 03 768 6993 www.thinkwater.co.nz/westcoast westcoast@thinkwater.co.nz Think Water West Coast - your locally owned water experts are proud to support Westland Mineral Sands in their new venture. Think Water West Coast specialise in irrigation, pumping and filtration system design, supply, installation and servicing, for a magnitude of customers ranging from residential to commercial and industrial to agricultural and are leading suppliers of innovative and integrated solutions to the water services sector, delivering maximum efficiency and certainty to our clients. Contact Greymouth based, Westmere Drilling Ltd: 03 768 7919 or 0274 310 456 “We know the ground conditions, we understand hydrology, and have been the preferred alluvial gold exploration company on the Coast for nearly thirty years.” – Ken Mears West Coast owned and operated.
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