Sheffield withdraws March outlook after operational issues at Thunderbird
Mineral sands producer Sheffield Resources has withdrawn its production and shipment outlook for the March 2026 quarter for the Thunderbird mineral sands mine, citing operational disruptions at the Kimberley Mineral Sands (KMS) operation in Western Australia.
The company explained that mine production during the quarter had been affected by reduced dozer fleet availability, lower mining contractor productivity and seasonal weather impacts that had continued from the December quarter.
Ore mined in February improved compared with January owing to better dozer fleet availability, despite ongoing seasonal weather disruptions. The KMS team is working with the mining contractor to improve equipment availability and overall mining productivity.
However, operations were further affected after the mine’s dry mining unit (DMU) suffered a mechanical failure on Monday.
Sheffield said a recovery plan was being developed by KMS and the mining contractor, but mine production was expected to be affected for at least a week as a result of the failure.
The lower mining rates had already resulted in reduced concentrate production prior to the DMU incident.
Sheffield also noted that a higher proportion of HiTi concentrate – previously referred to as leucoxene concentrate – was being produced following optimisation of process plant settings after production of the additional concentrate product resumed in late 2025.
Shipments of HiTi concentrate are expected to begin during March.
In response to the operational challenges, KMS has also implemented a management change, appointing a site-based head of operations with a track record of operational improvement earlier this month.
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