News

After a 20-month delay, tenement holder Mineralogy has agreed to join with CITIC in submitting the 2023 Mine Continuation Proposals to the WA Government for consideration and approval.

The 2023 MCPs were submitted to the State on 5 May 2025.

This important milestone comes less than a fortnight after the Supreme Court of Western Australia started hearing the trial of a case in which CITIC seeks, among other things, orders from the Court to compel Mineralogy to jointly submit the 2023 MCPs. That trial continues.

The existing government-approved project proposals and mining and waste rock and tailings storage are based on a mine plan only ever designed for the first five years of the project (construction, commissioning and early operation). The physical constraints of having to operate within the areas approved in those proposals forced a reduction in the rate of mining and processing in 2024 that has continued into 2025.

The 2023 MCPs aim to support continued operation of the Sino Iron Project for an interim period until further proposals can be submitted and approved for life-of-mine operations. Until now, Mineralogy has refused to support submission of the 2023 MCPs to the State.

In 2024, production at the Sino Iron Project was reduced approximately 30 per cent, resulting in the park-up of mining fleet, reduced contractor activity and more than a $65 million cut in annual royalty payments to the WA Government.

CITIC Pacific Mining Chairman Chen (Sam) Sui said Mineralogy's approval to submit the 2023 MCPs was welcome but long overdue.

"Failure to support their submission until now has placed our project and people under real pressure.

"These challenges won't go away overnight - we will feel the impact of these unnecessary and unjustified delays for some time. Further work is required to secure long-term operational certainty for our project.

"We can now engage with government agencies to secure the necessary approvals so that we can get on the ground to start these vital works as soon as possible. It's a first step in our eventual return to previous production levels.

"We're a strong, diverse and resilient team at CPM. We've overcome plenty of adversity to become an Australian leader in iron ore value-adding. We remain focused on putting this project on a sustainable footing for the benefit for all."