Sheffield announces monthly production gains at Thunderbird

Sheffield Resources (ASX:SFX) has praised month-on-month production gains at its Thunderbird Mineral Sands mine in Western Australia, with 825,000 tonnes of ore mined in June this year.

For the June quarter, total ore mined is expected to reach 2.2 million tonnes, a 20% increase from the run rate assumed in a 2022 bank feasibility study.

Sheffield, which has a market cap of $123.84 million, said higher mining output led to higher concentrate output, with 55,000 tonnes of ilmenite concentrate produced in June, bringing the total to 120,000 tonnes for the June quarter.

Meanwhile, zircon concentrate production was 13,000 tonnes for June and 33,000 tonnes for the quarter.

Sheffield also notes that June deliveries are expected to deliver a record month, with 48,000 tonnes of ilmenite concentrate and 22,000 tonnes of zircon concentrate delivered for the month to date.

Another 30,000 tons of ilmenite concentrate were loaded on June 26 for shipment.

On an annualized basis, projected deliveries for June will be close to 1.1 million tonnes per year. Sheffield says that’s it “in particular pleasant” given the busy peak season for passenger ships transiting through the Port of Broome.

The increase in deliveries over the quarter – along with a transition from advance payment terms to typical mineral sands payment terms – led to an increase in short-term receivables for Kimberley Mineral Sands (KMS), which owns the Thunderbird mine .

On June 26, KMS’s 50-50 owners – Sheffield and privately held Yansteel – contributed $7.5 million to fund working capital requirements. KMS expects to generate positive operating cash flow for the September quarter.

Following the contribution, Sheffield retains $10 million in cash and expects to reallocate and reduce cash that could have been applied to current growth opportunities in favor of maintaining flexibility to support KMS alongside Yansteel.

“Coupled with continued strong process plant performance and record forecasted export volumes in June 2024, June’s performance provides a strong foundation for sustained positive operating cash flow from the September 2024 quarter.” Bruce Griffin, chief executive of Sheffield Resources, says.

Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au

Images: Sheffield Resources