Australian iron ore development company BC Iron has announced that Australia’s Department of Mines and Petroleum has approved the company’s Mining Proposal and Mine Closure Plan for the Buckland mine project in Pilbara, which provides approval to commence development and operation of the Bungaroo South mine. The approved plan also includes approximately 105 kilometer of private road from the Bungaroo South mine area to the North West Coastal Highway.
BC Iron stated that this significant approval is another key step in advancing the strategic Buckland project towards a construction-ready status by the June quarter of the current financial year 2016-17. BC Iron continues to have discussions with a number of potential partners for the Buckland project on a range of concepts, including funding solutions, operating solutions, joint ventures and the provision of third party infrastructure services.
Meanwhile, BC Iron shipped 1.4 million wet metric ton of iron ore from its Iron Valley project during the first two months of the financial year 2016-17, which is above the company’s expectation of 1.0-1.2 million wmt. Accordingly, the company generated an EBITDA of $3.5 million. According to BC Iron, Iron Valley project is on track to achieve BC Iron’s EBITDA guidance of $6-16 million for the current fiscal year.