Estrella Resources Nears First Revenue from Timor-Leste Manganese Project
Estrella Resources is on the verge of generating its first revenue after successfully extracting a 22,600-tonne market sample from a newly mined open pit at its Ira Miri project in Timor-Leste. This significant milestone comes as the company operates under a 30,000-tonne extraction permit aimed at assessing the market suitability of its manganese product. The management team has confirmed that preparations for sale and shipment are already underway, targeting a select group of potential offtake partners.
The trial pit has revealed promising manganese mineralization, which not only sustains the geological narrative but also facilitates the transition to the seaborne market. Estrella’s management has indicated that the current site is rich in induced polarisation (IP) anomalies located beneath and adjacent to the trial pit. This discovery sets the stage for potential full-scale commercial extraction, contingent on the success of the bulk samples.
Logistics and Future Prospects for Ira Miri
Logistical arrangements are also progressing smoothly. The Autoridade Nacional dos Minerais, Timor-Leste’s national mining authority, has approved a port stockpile location. This allows for the direct shipping of ore, which can be blended to meet customer specifications before being trans-shipped into bulk carriers. The extracted market sample will soon be dispatched to prospective offtake partners for a thorough evaluation of its physical, chemical, and processing characteristics.
The extraction of high-grade, high-purity manganese from the Ira Miri project marks a pivotal development for Estrella Resources. The company has demonstrated that the project possesses the scale necessary to produce a substantial market sample. Notably, the pit was designed to target zones with previous standout drill intersections, including an impressive 11.97 meters grading 28.9% manganese and a separate 8.05-meter interval returning 53% manganese.
Estrella Resources Launches Manganese Extraction in Timor-Leste
Furthermore, the IP surveys have identified large, highly chargeable anomalies beneath the current pit design, indicating the potential for supergene manganese accumulations. There are also untested deep anomalies to the southeast and northwest, which could serve as follow-up drill targets if the initial shipping campaign proves successful.
