Estrella Resources (ASX: ESR) has hit a key milestone in its plans to create a manganese mining operation at the Ira Mira project in Timor-Leste.
A pioneer in the development of a critical minerals sector in Australia's neighbour, Estrella identified Ira Mira as a large high-grade, manganese discovery in June last year and has successfully fast-tracked its growth since then.
The next stage in that progression is underway, with extraction activities set to produce up to 30,000 tonnes of high-grade material for testing.
This will be one of Timor-Leste’s first-ever economic mineral bulk extraction under its, and will be utilised to confirm Ira Mira's export potential for export via testing.
The sample – which would represent one of Timor-Leste’s first-ever economic mineral bulk extractions under its new mining code – is strategically important for Estrella, as it will prove material for sale, export, and testing with potential future long-term offtake partners.
Local Industry Boost
The sampling program is also a milestone for local industry, with a contractor from the region conducting the exercise.
The contractor's fleet consists of three production excavators, one loader, one backhoe, one ancillary excavator, two bulldozers, and a fleet of 12 local community dump trucks fitted with mud chains for wet-season operations.
Work will begin on multiple bench levels to accelerate pit development, with excavation advancing toward the manganese-bearing horizon and first ore exposure imminent.
Estrella’s geological and engineering teams are closely supervising the project management—maintaining detailed metallurgical, quality, and commercial assessments of the Ira Miri manganese ore—with external surveyors appointed to provide full-time coverage.
The company anticipates the initial pit to excavate the intersected mineralisation will have a maximum depth of approximately 15 metres, with total excavation of approximately 85,000 cubic metres.
Export Partner Pathway
“Estrella continues to lead the way in the virtually unexplored region of Timor-Leste, and I am thrilled to see the diggers lining up at the high-grade and highly prospective Ira Miri Manganese project,” director Chris Daws said.
"This step is crucially important as it enables stronger relationships with potential export partners—it will generate extremely valuable geological data, and is also a source of royalties for Estrella as well as the government of Timor-Leste."
The stockpiled material will be transported approximately 17 kilometres from the Stage 1 pit to the former Lautem airstrip and decommissioned fish-processing facility, which hosts an existing barge landing site.
From there, the material will be loaded onto a barge and shipped offshore to be on-loaded into a bulk carrier.
Estrella plans to reuse topsoil at the project following the completion of test pit activities, in accordance with regulatory requirements and future project development considerations—reflecting the company’s commitment to environmental management and rehabilitation.
