Magnetite Beach and Pipeline Buoyancy Project (Arena Negra)
Overview:
- 1500 ha – 100% ownership by Blackfire Exploration Mexico S de RL de CV.
- 600,000 tonnes measured reserves of magnetite - 63%Fe
- Mining of magnetite is low cost, using dredge and magnetic separation technology.
- This is a new supply of iron ore for Asian steel markets and Mexican steel smelters.
- This is a cheap supply of high-density material, ideal for pipeline buoyancy control.
- Scheduled to start producing by 2011.
Slim Line Pipeline Weights (Pipeline Buoyancy):
When pipelines are laid in the muskeg, permafrost, river crossings, lakes, and oceans, they require weights to counteract buoyancy. The systems being used today are concrete, sand bags, and gravel bags which become very large and cumbersome on the larger diameter pipelines. They also require expensive cross ditching using excavators and high labour costs to install.
The Willis Group has developed a patented, high-density oil and gas pipeline buoyancy control device (Slim Line Pipeline Weights), which will be marketed for weighting pipelines in North America. Our new patented design employs the use of magnetite with its high density and environmentally friendly characteristics. By using cheap, high-density material such as magnetite, we believe that this technology will enable pipeline companies to dramatically reduce their costs in the following areas:
- Decrease trucking costs as you can transport more weights per load.
- Require fewer weights per km of pipe.
- Ease of installation as they can be strapped on large diameter pipe prior to setting in the ground.
- Decreases labour cost due to reduced installation time,
- Decreases installation cost as excavating is not required.
This project is based on five years of research and development by the Willis Group and is ready to for commercial production. Using high-density materials allows our buoyancy control devices to weigh less, require less volume (small sacks that fit into any ditch), and increase the spacing required between pipe sacks. We will be focusing on producing magnetite from the beach deposit as our main source of pipe sack weight material.
