CZR Resources announced that it has signed a co-operation agreement with Red Hill Iron under which the two companies will assess and potentially develop shared road and port infrastructure to support their neighboring Pilbara iron ore development projects. The Robe Mesa and Pannawonica Projects are located in close proximity and stand to benefit from shared infrastructure. The pair recently completed a joint environmental and topographic survey as part of studies to assess a single haulage route linking both projects to the North West Coastal Highway.

The co-operation agreement contains a cost-sharing mechanism through the study phase for the proposed haulage route and (subject to study outcomes) is intended to facilitate the conclusion of an access agreement providing both parties with access to a joint haulage route. The co-operation agreement also provides a framework for the parties to reach agreement on a further co-operation agreement to assess and potentially develop joint port export facilities. Establishing a single, jointly developed road and port potentially provides both CZR and RHI with significant capital savings and operating cost synergies.

CZR Managing Director Stefan Murphy and RHI Chief Executive Officer Michael Wall agree that jointly developing a single export route made a lot of sense for both companies. The Robe Mesa deposit sits within the Robe Valley Channel Iron Deposits (Robe Valley CID), adjacent to the Robe River JV operations. The Robe River JV (Rio Tinto 53%, Mitsui 33%, Nippon Steel 14%), operated by Rio Tinto, has been mining Robe Valley CID since the 1970s and has current mining operations at Mesa A, Warramboo and Mesa J, with rail linking to export facilities at Cape Lambert.

The Robe River JV invested $1.7B in the Robe Valley JV to replace production from existing mines at Mesa A, Warramboo and Mesa J. Production commenced at Mesa B, C and H in August 2021 and there is extensive drilling underway at Mesa F, effectively surrounding CZR's Robe Mesa deposit. CZR commenced a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) on Robe Mesa in 2021, building off the positive Prefeasibility Study (PFS) completed in December 2020. During the June quarter, CZR reported a material 52% increase in the JORC Resource from 24.7Mt to 37.5Mt.

The expanded Mineral Resource reflects the strong assay results reported in the March Quarter, which revealed the presence of extensive direct shipping iron ore (DSO) outside the PFS pit designs. The new Mineral Resource estimate is consistent with CZR's strategy to increase mine life and forecast production rate while maintaining similar iron ore specifications to its peers and the adjoining Robe Valley operations.