Recently, Oriental Zirconium Industry announced that ImageResourcesNL (hereinafter referred to as "Image"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Oriental Zirconium Industry Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Company"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Australia Oriental Zirconium Resources Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Australian East Zirconium") and its holding subsidiary ImageResourcesNL (hereinafter referred to as "Mingrui Zirconium Industry"). The plan is to use its own funds to acquire parts of the mining area of SheffieldResourcesLtd (hereinafter referred to as "Sheffield Resources").
The planned mine is located in the Eneabba mining area, 275km north of Perth, Western Australia, which is currently owned by Sheffield Resources. The mineral resources (JORC 2012) are estimated at 211 million tons, the heavy mineral grade is 3.0%, and contains about 6.3 million tons of heavy minerals. The acquisition price for the Eneabba mining area is A $24 million (cash). The mining area includes 8 exploration warrants, 3 mining rights certificates and 1 reservation license, covering 8 project areas, of which the largest project area has a (Yandanooka) resource of 60 million tons and a heavy ore grade of 3.0%.
Oriental Zirconium Industry pointed out that after the completion of this acquisition, the total amount of heavy minerals in Image's proven mineral resources (JORC 2012) will be more than doubled, which will contribute to the sustained and stable operation of Image and the sustained and efficient export of heavy mineral products. This acquisition provides a mineral resources base for the follow-up construction of Image production base, continues to maintain Image's good operating conditions, better returns to shareholders, and improves the investment efficiency of shareholders.
In addition, Oriental Zirconium Industry pointed out that the acquisition of part of the Sheffield Resources mining area by Image on the one hand helps Image to further extend the mining life and creates the possibility for a long-term and stable supply of heavy mineral raw materials to the company; on the other hand, the company can obtain investment income from Image's continued operation, which will have a positive impact on the company's performance.
