Black Canyon confirms Australia’s next major greenfield manganese resource
Black Canyon has positioned the Wandanya deposit, in Western Australia, among the most significant recent greenfield manganese discoveries in the country with a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 23.6-million tonnes grading 25.8%.
The MRE defines a shallow, high-confidence resource that includes 12.5-million tonnes of iron-ore grading 54.9%.
More than 90% of the manganese resource and 100% of the iron resource are in the measured and indicated categories.
“Wandanya demonstrates exceptional scale and grade quality when benchmarked against Australian manganese peers. The deposit compares favourably to historical Tier 1 developments and features outcropping, shallow mineralisation over a 3.4 km strike length,” says MD Brendan Cummins.
He adds that Wandanya has meaningful direct ship ore potential for both manganese and iron-ore.
Pilot-scale metallurgical testwork using simple dense media separation has upgraded manganese feeds up to 41% grades, with 80% recovery rates. Iron drop tests also generated a premium 74% lump product grading 59.7% iron.
Australia currently has two operating manganese mines, making new high-grade discoveries highly valuable.
Black Canyon aims to complete a scoping study on Wandanya, including preliminary economics, dual-commodity development pathways and direct shipping potential, by December.