Iron Road Limited announced that Metalytics has completed its independent technical review of the Central Eyre Iron Project (CEIP) ore processing flow sheet. Their detailed report and associated premium grade market commentary is now being made available on a confidential basis to potential CEIP partners. Metalytics is a highly regarded specialist consulting firm to the iron ore and steel industries and their industry professionals have decades of experience consulting to resource companies (including iron ore majors), steel producers, the financial sector and public sector entities. Importantly, the independent review by Metalytics verifies the process flow sheet design used by Iron Road in its previously announced feasibility and optimisation studies to achieve expected ore processing outcomes. On a first inspection of headline project parameters, Metalytics notes the CEIP in-situ ore grade of 15.9% Fe appears unpromising by comparison with existing magnetite mining and concentrating operations. However, in Metalytics' opinion, this must be assessed against the recognition that most other magnetite ores, including the BIF ores in Western Australia and the taconite ores in the USA, are markedly finer grained, significantly harder and more abrasive than the CEIP gneissic ore. The factors Metalytics regard as most relevant to the economic viability of a magnetite operation are the quality (and hence the market value) of the saleable concentrate product (particularly its iron content and impurity levels) and the operating cost of producing it, whatever the Fe grade of the in-situ ore. A key finding of the Metalytics report is that the coarse grain size and moderate hardness of the CEIP ore, combined with its lack of chemical and mineralogical variability, make it possible to reject 60% of the run-of-mine (ROM) mass at the Rougher Magnetic Separation (RMS) step, i.e. after semi-autogenous grinding (SAG mill crushing) to 3mm particle size. Consequently, only the remaining 40% mass flow enters a ball mill circuit for grinding. This 40% stream is estimated by Metalytics to have an average iron grade of around 27% Fe, which is well within the usual range for magnetite mines. The resultant material is then beneficiated to the finished concentrate product at a mass recovery of 37% and an iron recovery of 90% ­ levels that are, respectively, favourable, and very high by comparison with existing or under-construction Australian and Canadian high-grade iron concentrate projects. In Metalytics' opinion, these distinct features have important implications for CEIP's projected capital and operating costs. They highlight substantial reductions in the cost of electric power for both coarse and fine grinding that would be required with flow sheets to treat comparable tonnages of finer-grained, harder, and more abrasive magnetite ores. In particular, ore pre-concentration via the rejection of 60% of the ROM mass at the RMS step means that only 32.6 Mtpa of ore enters the ball mill circuit for comminution from a steady-state average of 81.7 Mtpa of ROM, substantially reducing the capacity that would otherwise be required for downstream processing. Premium high-grade iron ore products reduce energy consumption and plant emissions of CO2, other pollutants and dust, and increase blast furnace productivity and reduce slag generation. China, the world's dominant iron ore market, is continuing to push its environmental policy and regulatory agenda to reduce pollution, energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Steel companies are subject to operational restrictions to control emissions and to eliminate inefficient, obsolete, and small-scale facilities. Magnetite products with a wide range of properties and from geographically diverse sources are currently traded in international markets. Magnetite is the dominant iron-bearing mineral mined in North America, China, the C.I.S. and Europe. The Chinese steel industry has been underpinned by domestic magnetite ores, although many have complex chemistries, some containing multiple metals and other undesirable elements including sulphur.