Alien Metals Ltd, (AIM: UFO), announced that its subsidiary, Iron Ore Company of Australia(IOCA), has negotiated a partnership to share a facility in Utah Point, Pilbara with Australian miner Element 25, (E25).
This facility is located near Port Hedland and will process iron ore from Alien’s Hancock Pilbara operation, Western Australia, before shipping.
E25 and IOCA will work together to execute a formal agreement by the first quarter of 2023, according to the company. Alien, however, is still in discussions with the Pilbara Ports Authority regarding an independent allocation at Utah Point.
Roderick McIllree (chairman of Alien Metals) stated that the execution of the MOU with E25 was an important step towards unlocking Hancock’s export capacity.
“We will continue to collaborate with the Pilbara Ports Authority in order to obtain an independent export allowance at the Utah Point facility, in line with the production profile over time.
However, this MOU not just gives us immediate access but potentially paves IOCA’s way for increased production through Port Hedland to greater than our stated 1.2mt/pa
The non-binding MOU provides a framework for the parties to negotiate an agreement for IOCA to access existing bunker allocation and export capacity at the Pilbara Port Authority’s Utah Point export facility at a rate of more than one (1) shipment per calendar month.
The MOU also provides the framework for IOCA to access up to 40,000t of stockpile offsite storage at the E25 facility near Utah. This provides the opportunity to “sprint” additional tonnage to the port whilst loading thereby increasing total tonnes shipped and decreasing the costs overall of each shipment.
E25 is a manganese manufacturer located in South Australia, just south of Newman.
