 Aquila sees itself as a steel resources house focused on the bulk commodities of coal, iron ore and manganese. It has advanced projects in Australia, South Africa and Botswana. In coal, Aquila has a 50% interest in the Isaac Plains coal mine in the Bowen Basin and two other sizeable coal projects under evaluation in the same region of Queensland.
The company began exploring for iron ore in the Pilbara in WA in 2004 and in 2005 formed a 50:50 joint venture with American Metals and Coal Industries Inc (AMCI). In May 2008, the results of a PFS were released assessing the viability of a 25 – 30Mtpa pisolitic iron ore operation being established to the SW of Pannawonica. A DFS is due for completion this year and Anketell Point, directly west of Cape Lambert, was recommended as the preferred port site. The choice of port site appears to be an issue in dispute with AMCI according to a release in January and it will be interesting to learn more about development and funding time lines for this potential multi-billion dollar project.
Across in South Africa, Aquila has two more iron ore projects, but it is the Avontuur Manganese project in the Northern Cape Province that has recently caught the market’s attention with the announcement of a 34Mt open pittable resource grading 40% manganese.
The Aquila iron ore and manganese story will be presented by Russell Tipper who joined Aquila in May 2007. Russell has more than 30 years experience in mining operations, finance and project development work throughout Australia. He is a mining engineer and has worked in senior management and operational roles in raw steel materials operations producing iron ore, coal and manganese for both Robe River and BHP Billiton.
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