Companies:

 

Articles:

 
Mining

Sheffield Resources delivers record zircon sales from Thunderbird in March quarter despite cyclone disruption

Go to Colin Hay author's page
By Colin Hay - 
Sheffield Resources ASX SFX record zircon sales Thunderbird Mineral Sands Mine
Copied

Sheffield Resources (ASX: SFX) has overcome a cyclone-related shutdown and other logistical challenges in the region to achieve record zircon sales for the March 2025 quarter at its Thunderbird mineral sands mine in Western Australia.

Mining and processing plant operations at the project were suspended for five days in mid-February due to Cyclone Zelia.

Nevertheless, Sheffield was able to report that ilmenite and zircon concentrate production estimates for the March 2025 quarter remained unchanged.

March quarter production

Ore mining for the March quarter at Thunderbird totalled 2.5 million tonnes, with ilmenite concentrate production of 148,000t and zircon concentrate production of 39,000t for the period.

Zircon concentrate shipments in the quarter totalled 82,000t, with shipments maximised over this time to take advantage of strong customer interest and work around the closure of the Broome port in late March.

The company also shipped 126,000t of ilmenite and 18,000t of leucoxene concentrate during the quarter.

World-class discovery

Owned by Kimberley Mineral Sands (KMS), a 50:50 joint venture between Sheffield and China’s Yansteel, the Thunderbird mine is considered one of the largest and highest-grade mineral sands discoveries in the last 30 years.

While the record March performance had seen a significant reduction of the mine’s zircon concentrate inventory, the company said that numbers remained above the normal expected levels at the end of the period.

“Record zircon shipments for the March quarter are the result of the expanded customer base developed by the KMS marketing team and the strong interest we are seeing from existing and new customers for Thunderbird zircon concentrate,” executive chair Bruce Griffin said.

“Combined with continued regular shipments of ilmenite to our joint venture partner Yansteel, these strong sales are expected to deliver the first positive quarter of operating cash flow for the Thunderbird mine–an excellent turnaround by KMS management, staff and contractors.”