Dome Gold Mines has started extracting 15 to 20 tonnes of sand from Sigatoka for shipment to Australia, the company announced through the Australian Stock Exchange.
The company stated it had a magnetite and industrial sand project at Sigatoka, Fiji.
“Earlier this year, Dome completed preparatory steps to collect and ship a 15-20 tonne sample of sand containing magnetite and other heavy minerals from Sigatoka to IHC Mining at Yatala, Queensland, for large-scale pilot plant processing.
“The sample is being collected from several sites that represent variations in the sand deposit. The sample is being placed into one tonne heavy duty bulk bags that are loaded into a twenty-tonne marine container for safe shipment to the port of Brisbane.
“On arrival at the metallurgical facility, the bulk sample will be processed through a pilot plant simulating full-scale plant operations.
“The pilot plant will produce samples of magnetite concentrate and industrial sand for market evaluation and off-take negotiation purposes.”
The company said this program represented a major step towards completion of the Sigatoka definitive feasibility study.