LATEST NEWS

 

30 July Quarterly Activities Report - For the Quarter Ended on 30 June 2010

30 July Quarterly Cash Flow Report - For the Quarter Ended on 30 June 2010

23 July More Than 6 Million Tonnes HM including 1.7 Million Tonnes of Zircon (1%HM cut-off) at Cyclone and Cyclone Extended

21 July Form 604 - Change of Interests of Substantial Shareholder

11 June More High Grades Encountered at Gingin, Government Grant for Cooljarloo

31 May Appendix 3B - New Issue Announcement

28 May EMU: Significant Open Ended EM Conductor at Emu Lake

19 May Boardroom Radio broadcast - Image Encounters More High-grades at Gingin

17 May More High Grades Encountered at Gingin

17 May New High Grade Discovery within 16km Target at Gingin

30 November 09 - The Australia

The Speculator t

27 October 09 - The Australia Business

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Image Resources is a diversified mineral explorer with a major landholding and an expanding mineral sands resource base in the North Perth Basin of Western Australia as well as major mineral sands projects in the Eucla Basin.

Figure 1: Image Resources NL’s projects in Western Australia

In the last few years there has been extensive exploration for heavy mineral sands deposits in WA, particularly for those rich in zircon. The main focus for Image Resources has been in the Cooljarloo area in the mid-west coastal plain of the Perth Basin (Fig. 1) with deposits such as Atlas and the Hyperion deposit at Cooljarloo North being extremely prospective. Other areas of interest include the Gingin prospect, as well as mineral sands targets around Bidaminna and Bootine. The newly discovered zircon-rich Cyclone and Cyclone Extended mineral sand deposits are contained within the Wanna Lakes in the Eucla Basin, close to the border with South Australia.

The titanium mineral sands industry (heavy mineral sands) is the most important sector of the industrial minerals suite in Western Australia, and includes ilmenite, synthetic rutile (upgraded ilmenite), leucoxene and rutile, together with zircon and staurolite mineral sands.

Titanium minerals

Ilmenite, leucoxene and rutile are oxides of titanium and used primarily as a feedstock for the TiO₂ pigment industry, and are the source for titanium metal. Titanium pigments are used in a wide range of products such as paints and sunscreens to plastics, paper, textiles and food. The high strength combined with its lightness makes titanium metal ideal for engineering, particularly in the aerospace industry, as well as in jewellery. About 10 Mt is consumed globally per annum. Ilmenite attracts a price of about US$100/tonne, leucoxene about US$450/tonne and rutile about US$650/tone. Synthetic rutile, a downstream product of ilmenite, attracts about US$500/tone. Ilmenite typically comprises 40–80% of a heavy mineral suite, leucoxene 5–30% and rutile 2–15%.

Zircon

Zircon or zirconium silicate (ZrSiO₄) is used in the production of ceramics, as a refractory, in foundry applications and specialised glass. It is also the source for zirconia (zirconium dioxide, ZrO₂), which is used in many high-end industrial applications. Zirconium metal has a high melting point and is chemically resistant which makes it ideal for use in specialized metal alloys and nuclear fuel roads. About 1.3 Mt is consumed globally per annum and it attracts a price of about US$1000/tonne, up from US$850 a year ago. Zircon typically comprises 5–15% of a heavy mineral suite. The Eucla Basin projects contain 25–50% zircon in the heavy minerals.

As well as the mineral sands projects, Image retains interests in a diverse package of gold and nickel tenements through joint ventures with Emu Nickel NL, Meteoric Resources NL, Magnetic Resources NL, Catalpa Resources Ltd and Sipa Resources Ltd.

Last updated: 30 July 2010