Company Information for Atlas Iron Ltd

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Company Statement

Atlas Iron is a dynamic iron ore producer, with a number of key projects strategically located within150km of the port of Port Hedland in Western Australia.

Atlas Iron is committed to:

• Building and maintaining good relationships with the indigenous people in the communities in which we operate;
• Being the indigenous employer of choice;
• Partnership with indigenous communities to develop sustainable economic business opportunities wherever appropriate;
• Operating within existing environmental constraints and respecting indigenous connection to land; and
• Delivering cross cultural awareness training to our workforce.

Current Operations

Atlas Iron has an extensive portfolio of projects - encompassing over 8,900km2 - in Western Australia, ranging from the established Pardoo Operation near Port Hedland, to new grass-roots Exploration Licence applications in the Newman area and mining leases in the Midwest. Atlas continues to be one of the most aggressive explorers in the state, a strategy which has led to rapid growth in the company's resource inventory through a series of outstanding exploration successes.

The Company's main focus is the discovery and development of Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) deposits in strategic locations adjacent to existing infrastructure. The Pardoo Operation commenced mining in October 2008, with the first export shipment loaded at FMG's Anderson Point facility only two months later. Low-capex operations like Pardoo are the key to Atlas's expansion plans, and Wodgina, Abydos and Mt Webber will be instrumental in expanding the production base from 1 million tonne per annum to 12 million tonnes by 2012.

In addition to DSO the Company has the World-class Ridley Magnetite Project, a 2 Billion tonne magnetite resource which includes a 970 million tonnes reserve. Pre-feasibility studies have indicated Ridley has the potential to produce 15 million tonnes of high-grade magnetite concentrate per annum for over 30 years.

Any references to exploration targets or current resources should be read in conjunction with the Statement on Exploration Targets and Competent Person Statements on the Resources section of this website.

Pardoo
Pardoo is Atlas' first producing iron ore mine, having commenced operations in October 2008. The operation produces a quality low-alumina DSO product from a number of open pits, which provide flexibility in blending to produce ore which meets the customer's requirements. Ore is mined by a conventional truck-and-backhoe mining fleet, before being crushed and screened on site and delivered to port by covered road trains. The road haulage operators observe a curfew between the hours of 4pm and 6pm in order to avoid peak evening traffic times in the Port Hedland community.

The project area lies within the Ord Range Greenstone Belt that comprises predominantly of the Nimingarra Iron Formation. Strike equivalents of this formation host the BHPB Goldsworthy, Shay Gap and Yarrie Iron Ore operations, in addition to De Grey Mining Ltd's Turner River gold deposits which lie to the east and southwest of the Pardoo/Goldsworthy Project area respectively.

Excised from within the project are the Ord and Ridley Iron Ore deposits held by BHPB, for which open file reports indicate potential of greater than 25 Mt at grades over 55 % Fe. These estimates are conceptual in nature and do not constitute a JORC compliant resource.

Ridley Magnetite Project
In April 2009, Atlas announced the findings of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) on the Ridley Magnetite Project. This study, the culmination of work by a number of sub-consultants under the supervision of Engenium, sought optimal solutions for mining, crushing, ore delivery, ore processing, waste and tailings storage, power generation, sources of process water, concentrate delivery and export.

The PFS concluded that a large conventional truck-and-shovel open pit operation mining approximately 48Mtpa of magnetite ore would produce 15Mtpa of concentrate for export. Ore will be crushed in-pit, and both ore and waste will be hauled to the natural surface by conveyors, with rock waste and tailings encapsulated together in a staged waste storage facility. The ore will be processed by multiple stage autogenous grinding followed by magnetic separation, with an end product of 80% passing 30 micron, containing 68.3% Fe and 4.3% SiO2.

Because of the limits to current shiploading availability in the Port Hedland port, offshore shiploading options were preferred. Ore concentrate will be pumped as a slurry to a trans-shipper approximately 20km offshore, where the existing ocean depth is sufficient to allow Cape-size vessels without the need for additional dredging. The slurry will be dewatered on board the trans-shipper, which will have the capacity to load vessels at 8,000tph (dry equivalent).

The project will require approximately 330MW of electrical power, which will require an on-site power station with a dedicated gas pipeline. The whole project will require a workforce of over 700 people.

The estimated capital requirement to establish the Ridley Magnetite Project is A$2,972 million, inclusive of a contingency of $250 million. The average annual real operating cost has been estimated at $36.22/tonne of concentrate.

Abydos
Atlas has completed a pre-feasibility study for a proposed 3Mtpa DSO operation at Abydos, with Trigg as the first deposit to be mined. In early 2009 Atlas made the decision to promote Wodgina ahead of Abydos in the production schedule, simply because of Wodgina's low capital costs resulting from the Talison infrastructure sharing agreement, and Abydos remains a key to the company's expansion plans.

The Company's current estimate of total target potential for Abydos Project is in the range 30 - 40 Mt. 

Wodgina
The Wodgina DSO Project is located approximately 90km south of Port Hedland on the Great Northern Highway. Atlas holds 100% of the iron ore rights to the project area, acquired from Talison Minerals Pty Ltd in February 2008. This exciting and highly prospective project has been the main focus of Atlas' exploration and resource development activities since drilling commenced in November 2008, and Wodgina is now scheduled to be the Company's next mining operation, with production commencing in January 2010.

The pace of exploration at Wodgina has been frenetic since drilling commenced. The first RC programme was successful in discovering the Anson deposit, for which a maiden resource was announced in January 2009. This was quickly followed by additional discoveries extending Anson to the north and west, and subsequent discoveries between Anson and Talison's open pit operations which accounted for over 40 million tonnes of resource inventory by May 2009. Atlas has now completed over 60,000m of RC and diamond drilling at Wodgina. The rapid rate of exploration success led to a re-evaluation of development priorities by the Company, and a decision was made to fast-track development at Wodgina as the logical next step in Atlas' expansion plans.

In the future Wodgina may become increasingly important to Atlas as a potential central processing hub for ore mined at Abydos and Mt Webber.

Mt Webber
In early August 2009 Atlas announced an initial Inferred Resource of 32.6 million tonnes at 57.3% Fe at the Ibanez and Fender prospects. With further drilling ongoing at another two prospects, this resource is expected to grow in the second half of 2009. The resource will also be upgraded to Indicated category with additional infill RC drilling, and diamond drilling to determine bulk density and metallurgical characteristics.

Mt Webber has potential to be developed either as a stand-alone operation, or as a satellite mine delivering run-of-mine ore to a central processing facility at Wodgina. Mt Webber is approximately 40km east of the FMG railway line and immediately north of the Woodstock Road, which connects Marble Bar to the Great Northern Highway.

Midwest Projects 
The tenements at Mt Gould and Weld Range are located in the Jack Hills and Mt Weld areas of the Midwest region of Western Australia respectively, and are both highly prospective for iron ore. Mt Gould contains the interpreted strike extension to iron ore currently being mined and exported from Jack Hills by Crossland Resources. Weld Range contains prospective banded iron (BIF) rock units of the Weld Range Greenstone Belt which is largely covered by tenure held by Sinosteel Midwest Corporation comprising their flagship direct shipping ore (DSO) project of 155.5 Mt at 58% Fe.  Sinosteel Midwest propose commencing mining operations in coordination with the development of the new Oakajee Port and related railway.

Pilbara Region
Atlas Iron Ltd has a number of other prospective landholdings within its project portfolio in addition to those mentioned above.

The Northeast Pilbara is rugged, sparsely populated, vastly under-explored and capable of providing enormous reward for the persistent and effective explorer.  Recent state government support for multi user infrastructure in Port Hedland and Geraldton is to be commended.  It will further encourage private sector capital investment in exploration and project development as well as associated service industries.  Atlas has been aggressively exploring its prospective Pilbara landholdings with outstanding results, and will continue to do so.

Atlas has a distinct advantage through the quality of its landholding and access to existing and proposed infrastructure. These two factors enabled Atlas to bring low capital cost projects into production quickly, realising operating margins early and subsequently seizing further growth opportunities for the benefit of its shareholders. The same factors will continue to allow Atlas to grow its export profile rapidly, without being forced to wait for third party rail access to move its products to port.

Hedland Project
Atlas' focus has been on assessing the potential of isolated outcrops of Channel Iron Deposit (CID) material interpreted as remnants of the Poondano paleodrainage system. In total eight surface rock chip samples have been collected during previous reconnaissance surveys.  The best result returned was 58.1% Fe from Lena prospect.  Follow up drilling (completed in 2005/06) totalling 12 holes for 338m returned best intercepts of 8 metres at 54.0% Fe and 4 metres at 56.1% Fe. Evaluation of possible effective and inexpensive beneficiation options as well as further work on targets within the project areas is planned for the coming year.

Turner River
Located approximately 50km south of Port Hedland the project area is considered prospective for hosting economically exploitable CID Deposits.  The most significant of these recognised to date is the Mount Wallareenya Prospect which forms a narrow ridge some 1.5 km long, up to 100m wide and up to 12 metres thick.

Rock chip samples returned values ranging from 52 to 59% Fe. The best intercept returned was 12 metres at 54.1% Fe from surface in WLRC025, which included 4 metres @ 57.5% Fe from 6 metres.

Farrel Well
Located some 100km south east of Port Hedland, this project area is considered prospective for hosting a commercial iron ore operation. Atlas has delineated several areas of iron enrichment, with the largest of these, the Grant prospect, drilled in September 2008. Final assay results for the Grants drilling are still pending.

White Springs, Western Shaw and Hillside
These projects are a group of three exploration licence applications that are located between 150 to 210 kilometres south and south-southeast of Port Hedland in the southern part of the Eastern Pilbara Craton. Lower Hamersley Group sediments lay unconformably onto the Pilbara Craton either within the southern parts of the tenements or immediately to the south of the tenements. Some seven CID deposits have been identified in the Western Shaw Project area and rock chip sampling has returning results up to 62.7 % Fe.  

Geographical Spread

Western Australia

Board of Directors and Key Management

Directors

Geoff Clifford (Non Executive Chairman)

David Flanagan (Managing Director)

David Hannon (Non Executive Director)

Jyn Sim Baker (Non Executive Director)

Management

Anthony Walsh (Company Secretary)

Mark Hancock (Chief Financial Officer)

Ken Brinsden (Operations Manager)

Andrew Paterson (Geology Manager)

Garry Plowright (Land Access and Approvals Manager)

Jack Cullity (Legal Manager )

Daniel Taylor (Marketing Manager)

Jeremy Sinclair (General Manager Pardoo)

Company Address Ground Floor 10 Richardson Street WEST PERTH, Australia 6005 Telephone: +61 8 9476 7900 Facsimile: + 61 8 9476 7988 Email: atlas[at]atlasiron.com.au Website: http://www.atlasiron.com.au

Capital Ordinary Shares: 390m

Year End 30 June

Major Shareholders

Shareholder	No Of Shares	%
IMC RESOURCE INV PL	58,149,653	16.96%
NATIONAL NOM LTD	39,746,075	11.59%
CITICORP NOM PL	17,262,879	5.04%
COGENT NOM PL	15,891,363	4.64%
HSBC CUSTODY NOM AUST LTD	10,649,564	3.11%
J P MORGAN NOM AUST LTD	9,202,583	2.68%
PERPETUAL CORP TRUST ACF	6,867,135	2.00%
PERPETUAL TRUST LTD	6,033,851	1.76%
ANZ NOM LTD CASH INCOME A/C	5,288,824	1.54%
YUE CONGLIN	4,961,468	1.45%

Related News

23/12/09 - Atlas Iron Has A Lot To Show For Five Years Work
10/09/09 - Atlas Iron And Warwick Resources Join Forces On The Pilbara
17/06/09 - Cashed-Up Atlas Iron Powers On Towards A Production Target Of Twelve Million Tonnes Of Iron Ore Per Year
11/03/09 - Atlas Iron Makes Friends And Influences Its Share Price
27/11/08 - Atlas Prepares To Make Its First Shipment, But Finds Its Shareholders Harder Than Iron
12/05/08 - Atlas Iron Is On The Verge Of Becoming A World Class Iron Ore Producer

Most Recent Statement

10/03/10 - ATLAS AND AUROX AGREE TO MERGE
22/02/10 - Atlas and Aurox enter into Port Cooperation Agreement
25/01/10 - Substantial increase in Wodgina DSO Reserves
22/01/10 - Atlas secures 2 more long term DSO sales agreements
21/01/10 - Atlas doubles DSO Resource inventory to 187Mt
11/12/09 - Atlas ships over one million tonnes in first 12 months