PTR Minerals Ltd has released a preliminary mine optimisation and scheduling study for the Rosewood Titanium Project in South Australia, demonstrating the potential to target 17% heavy mineral grades early in the mine life to maximise initial cash flows.

The study, completed by AMC Consultants, evaluated four processing throughput scenarios across pit shells generated at a Revenue Factor of 0.5. The scenarios indicate an average life-of-mine plant feed grade between 12% and 16% heavy mineral and a mine life ranging from 22 to 35 years. The proposed schedule draws 73% to 85% of plant feed from Indicated Mineral Resources, with the balance comprising Inferred material.

The latest scheduling approach marks a shift from the project's maiden mineral resource estimate, which reported an overall average grade of 8.8% heavy mineral across a total inventory of 463 million tonnes. By prioritizing higher-grade zones from the outset, the company aims to reduce initial capital requirements and shorten capital payback periods.

The ability to mine the extremely high-grade zones at Rosewood in the early years of an operation could have a significant impact on the financial returns.

Grading 17% HM, these zones are significantly higher-grade than other HMS projects around the world.

— Rob Sennitt, Managing Director

Complementing the scheduling work, metallurgical testwork conducted by Mineral Technologies on a 3-tonne bulk sample has established flowsheet optionality. Previous testwork by IHC Mining evaluated a flowsheet incorporating both wet concentration and a secondary dry separation stage. In contrast, the recent work demonstrated that a high-quality leucoxene product containing 66.4% titanium dioxide can be produced through conventional wet concentration alone, achieving an 81% recovery of valuable heavy mineral without requiring dry separation.

The Rosewood deposit forms part of the broader Muckanippie Project, where PTR holds a 100% interest in exploration licence EL 6855 and a 70% interest in EL 6715 under a farm-in agreement with Narryer Metals.

The company is finalizing reviews and optimization of key studies for Rosewood alongside integration into the financial model as part of its ongoing scoping study activities. PTR also plans to upgrade portions of the resource over the coming months, including raising inventory to the Measured classification. Meanwhile, regional mineral sands activity continues to advance across South Australia, highlighted by Iluka Resources reporting mineral sands revenue of $433 million for the first half of 2026 at its Jacinth-Ambrosia project within the surrounding district.

Read the full announcement: Positive Preliminary Mining Study