Juno Minerals Limited (ASX: JNO) has entered into an agreement to sell its Mount Mason DSO Hematite Project to Gold Valley Yilgarn Pty Ltd (GVY) for A$6 million in cash plus a 2% free-on-board (FOB) royalty on all iron ore production from the project tenements. A$3 million of the cash consideration has already been received as a deposit, with the remaining A$3 million payable upon completion of the tenement transfer, expected within six months. GVY intends to commence production by mid-2026, leveraging existing Juno infrastructure and the project’s existing development permits.
The sale strategically divests a smaller, capital-intensive project that Juno deemed unlikely to develop independently, allowing GVY to integrate Mount Mason into its established Wiluna production and supply chain to the Port of Esperance. Juno plans to allocate the sale proceeds to maintaining its core asset, the Mount Ida Magnetite Project, pursuing new opportunities, and bolstering general working capital.
The Mount Mason Project encompasses mining lease M29/408, which holds a mineral resource of 5.9 million tonnes of hematite iron ore at 60.1% Fe, along with supporting general purpose lease G29/23 and miscellaneous license L29/132. As part of the agreement, Juno has granted GVY a non-exclusive license to use an approved 27km haul road from the mine site to the Menzies North-West Road, and will lease its Cassini Village to GVY for a nominal fee to assist with human resourcing.
Juno emphasizes that the sale does not affect its Mount Ida Magnetite Project, a strategically important asset with a substantial resource of 1.85 billion tonnes at 29.48% Fe. The company plans to focus on attracting a joint venture partner to advance the Mount Ida project, particularly given the increasing demand for high-quality magnetite concentrate in the green steel industry. The Mount Ida project is located near Hancock Prospecting and Legacy Iron Ore’s Mt Bevan Magnetite Project JV which bodes well for project development in the region.
