Thank you for joining today's teleconference for the release of Mount Gibson Iron's June quarter activities report. Mount Gibson Chief Executive Officer, Peter Kerr will be leading the discussion and is joined by Chief Financial Officer, Jill Dobson and External Relations Manager, John Sacyus. Mr. Kerr will provide a brief overview, after which there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Due to time constraints, only institutional participants will be invited to ask questions at that time.
A recording of the call will also be available by the Mount Gibson website shortly after completion of today's teleconference. Please go ahead, Peter. Thank you.
Thanks, Bethany, and good morning all and thanks for joining us for Mount Gibson's June 2021 quarter report. As usual, I'll give a brief overview before handing back to Bethany for any questions. Before we start, I also wanted to note that our year end audit is underway and therefore that the various sales and financial figures we have quoted today remain subject to year end audit adjustments, if any. Activity in the quarter was focused on advancing the overburdened stripping investment and football support works and crusher upgrade at Coolum and commissioning of the Syne Iron Ore mine in the Midwest in advance of that operations first shipment, which is scheduled for next month. At Coolin, we made good progress with the overburden stripping program in the main pit and this remains on track for substantial completion during the second half of twenty twenty one.
The program is key for our business as it will set up the mine for significantly increased sales and cash flows for the remaining 5 years of its mine life. We also commenced the ground support program for the main pit's upper western end footwall and completed the first stage of the crushing plant upgrowth. At Cheyenne, we completed site construction, commissioned the crusher and commenced trucking new ore to the port, and that keeps us on course for the 1st sale next month, as I mentioned. These activities occurred during intermittent disruption from COVID restrictions in WA and around the country, and these are now starting to bite and notably rather have caused shortages of labor and slowed the progress of key activities that are reliant on some interstate specialist skills. In terms of overall iron ore sales, we sold 481,000 tonnes of fines from Kulin Island, and these were low grade fines, and that was almost double the volume in the prior quarter to finish the year at 1,800,000 tonnes shipped from Kulin.
And combined with the 1,200,000 tonnes that we shipped from Extension Hill in the first half of the year, our group sales totaled 3,000,000 tonnes in the middle of our guidance. Sales revenue totaled $41,000,000 for the quarter $311,000,000 for the year. The quarter's results, which was low by relative standards to previous periods, is reflective of the sales volumes and the lower quality of that material shipped from Kulin Island whilst the stripping program is undertaken. The average realized price for the low grade material in the quarter was US66 dollars FOB. And when that's put into CFR terms, then add approximately another $15 to $20 on top of that for a CFR price.
And this reflected the reduced specifications while the waste overburden stripping program is happening. Material is sourced primarily from main pit extremities and a satellite deposit and would typically have been stockpiled for future blending, but it can be sold for reasonable returns in this current market. Sale of the low grade material is temporary as we hit towards accessing the significant quantities of higher grade ore in coming months. Group unit cash costs across the quarter averaged AUS 82 dollars per tonne FOB sold and for the financial year AUS66 dollars per tonne sold before the capitalized overburden stripping and other capital improvement projects, and this was in line with our guidance. Cash and investment reserves totaled AUD 365,000,000 at the end of the period, and that compares with $412,000,000 at the end of March.
The movement comprised operating cash flow of $8,000,000 at Coolum, dollars 40,000,000 invested in waste stripping and $11,000,000 in capital improvement projects. At Shine, the development costs totaled $17,000,000 as per our plan. The Midwest rail credit and infrastructure income totaled $2,000,000 and interest and other income also totaled 2,000,000 dollars At Extension Hill, rehabilitation costs were $2,000,000 and the corporate and administration costs were $3,000,000 in line with our usual run rate, with working capital flows being positive 14,000,000 dollars Turning now to Coolin in a bit more detail. As mentioned, the focus of Coolin is on the overburden stripping phase and the upper footwall geotechnical works as well as the crusher upgrade. Together, these activities, as you know, will set up the site for significantly reduced costs and increased ore sales and cash flow from later this year onwards.
We remain on track to substantially complete the waste stripping program later this year, and total material movement increased 13% to 5,000,000 tonnes of ore and waste in the quarter compared with 4,400,000 tonnes in the prior quarter and totaled 20,100,000 tonnes for the full year. The quarterly release in sorry, the quarterly increase in total material move reflected the ramp up in waste movement following the end of the wet season, which continued through to April. In relation to geotechnical management, in ground instrumentation continues to show the Koolan seawall is performing well and to design expectations. Regarding the island side footwall of the main pit, we have commenced on wall drilling and bulking to secure the base rock in priority zones to remove the risk of rock falls like the one we experienced in late October last year. Mobilization of specialist contractor personnel and equipment commenced in April, with initial work starting in May.
And work rates are now increasing, but efforts are being impacted by the interstate COVID travel restrictions, unfortunately. Program is forecast to cost approximately $20,000,000 over the following 6 months, and both Mark Gibson and the contractor are seeking ways to increase productivity and decrease the cost. This program will progressively allow mining access to the high grade zones in the western half of the main pit from the end of September onwards. And until then, we will continue to extract the available lower and medium grade iron ore from the zones we're mining within the main pit and from the satellite pit. The initial stage of the crusher upgrade project was completed as scheduled in the quarter, with the final stage currently scheduled for completion in the December quarter, in line with our ore volumes.
The existing crushing plant is being maintained to handle the forecast near term volumes. The total capital investment for the upgrade project is estimated at $20,000,000 to $25,000,000 of which $7,000,000 was spent in the quarter and $11,000,000 has been spent to date. The upgrade will ensure that crushing circuit is capable of processing the significantly increased volumes of high grade ore that we scheduled to occur from later this year onwards. In relation to costs, site cash costs before the waste stripping investment and capital upgrade projects were in line with guidance at AUD 69 per wet metric tonne FOB in the quarter, and they averaged AUD 70 per wet metric tonne sold for the year. In relation to cash flow, the Kulin Island site generated operating cash flow of A8 1,000,000 in the quarter before capitalized waste stripping investment of A40 1,000,000 and other capital projects of A11 dollars For the year, the site generated $121,000,000 before the waste stripping investment of $138,000,000 and capital projects of $22,000,000 So you can see this is very much our investment year for that waste movement.
In relation to the Midwest, our focus has been on development of the Syne project, which is located approximately 85 kilometers north of the now closed Extension Hill Mine site. Production from Syne is targeted at 1,500,000 tonnes per annum for an initial 2 year period, and there is potential for a further 2 years at a similar rate if conditions remain positive. Site construction is largely complete. Mining commenced in March and crushing started at the end of June. Ore is presently being trucked by road from Shine approximately 300 kilometers to Mount Gibson storage facilities at Geraldton Port.
The first shipment is scheduled for next month, just to note. Mount Gibson intends shortly to recommission its existing Ruvardeni rail siding at the town of Mullawa, which will facilitate a reduced road haul distance from Syne and a rail journey for the final 100 kilometers into Geraldton Port. A Ruberdini Siding was established some years ago for Mount Gibson's Tellering Peak Mine, which closed in 2014 after 10 years operation. Much of the time frame with the reestablishment of the Ruvatini site is related to road and government approvals, and we're working through those. Current trucking activities from Schein will progressively increase over the coming months as drivers and trucks become available in what is now a tight market for trucking contractors.
Capital development of preproduction expenditure at Schein during the full financial year totaled €29,000,000 consistent with our guidance, including $17,000,000 in the June quarter. We anticipate cost pressures during the initial trucking phase. We're obviously seeing some of those now, notably while haulage volumes rise towards target of 1,500,000 ton per annum rate. However, current and anticipated prices more than compensate for those pressures, and we'll give specific guidance for the 2021, 2022 financial year when we release our full year results in August. At Extension Hill, there, rehabilitation of the closed site has advanced to plan.
We had a provision for rehabilitation of $9,000,000 for closure at 31 December. And with the work that's been undertaken, this is reduced to around $5,700,000 at 30 June 2021. Infrastructure remaining on-site includes the crushing plant and accommodation camp, and we've had expressions of interest from various parties regarding those assets, which could help offset future rehabilitation costs. Although sales were recorded in the Midwest business in the quarter, we did accrue $2,000,000 for the ongoing historic rail refund credit, which continues to come to us. Regarding exploration and business development activities, whilst we've been investing at both Sion and Kulin, we have continued on a number of fronts here.
And we do see potential development and investment opportunities to grow the business, focusing in bulk commodities and base metal sectors. Today, we purchased equity positions in 6 junior resources companies, which are considered to have the potential for future financing or strategic opportunities. And these investments currently have a market value of approximately 13,000,000 dollars and there are various discussions ongoing about those opportunities. In addition, we've continued to assess various greenfields and brownfields exploration opportunities for base metals deposits in the Midwest region. And this month, we have just entered into a parliament agreement covering various prospective exploration tenure to the north of the former Talaring Peak mine.
Number of target areas also been identified for further testing on our existing tenure in this region. At the Port of Geraldton, where we own substantial storage and export infrastructure, we have also entered into agreements to provide third parties with access, surplus storage capacity and product handling services on commercial terms. And these agreements generating some additional revenue streams for us from our existing capacity, which isn't required currency for the Syne project. So in closing, as planned, the quarter was focused on a number of key investments at Coolin Island and the start up of the Syne operation, which has gone well, as we head towards increasing our sales and cash flows from both operations in the coming 3 to 6 months. So on that note, I'll hand back to you, Bethany, for any questions that anyone may have.
Thank you, Peter. We do have a question. Just one
moment. Sure.
Our first question is from John. Please go ahead, John. Thank you.
Good morning, all. Just a quick question on the realized pricing. Could you maybe give us what percent of that was really due to grade? And how much was it actually due to the ore quality that was shipped out there? Like what was the impurities on the penalties surrounding that big discount?
Sure, John. It's actually a combination of the 2. As you know, the as grades of the or the iron grades fall, there's a steep discount from the various indices, the lower you go. So that's one aspect. But the other aspect is at Coolin Island, what you don't get in iron, you pick up in silica.
And so the silica grades of the material that we sold, which would normally be this material would normally be blended, but we chose to sell it into this high price market, was up around the 18% to 20% level for silica. So that carries a substantial penalty for the Platts market information or other market information that is used for those contracts. And so that's really a driver behind why that process is lower than in prior periods.
Okay. Thanks. And how should we think about life extensions at Coolant in terms of the satellite bits of stuff when there's such a steep discount for some of these projects, it's not our products, it's not in the main bench? Sure.
The best way to think about that is, for instance, were we to access the mangrove deposit, which is an aim, or were we to extend the main pit at the east and west extremities in due course, we would be blending that material. So the idea is we wouldn't be selling it as a standalone product. We would be blending it in with the high grade from the main pit progressively over time. And so that would actually reduce in a minor way the grade will increase the penalties of the product we're selling, but not to the extent of selling those products by themselves. And at this stage, we have commented that the mine plan or the main pit is currently understood and the reserves are our reserve statement, which support the 5 year mine life.
To the extent we can pick up additional material, we will and mangrove itself, we don't know how many tonnes that might support, but I would think it might be the equivalent of an extra half a year to a year maximum of that order. And that's the work that we're looking to do once we have some additional drilling into that deposit.
Okay. Thanks for that guys. Just one more on the trucking costs. Could you give us maybe an inkling of what the cost pressure is around trucking at this point? Like what's the difference between what we would have seen per ton last year to this year?
Look, difficult to quantify at the minute we'll do that with our full year results. But what we are seeing is a lack of drivers. And some drivers in the Midwest, the various contractors operating there do reside in interstate locations. And so that's obviously caused a problem. The other aspect too is actually trucking equipment, so prime movers and trailers.
And we are working with contractors already and we have trailers and prime movers moving for us. But we are seeking to ramp up that fleet as rapidly as we can.
Excellent. Thanks guys.
Thank you. John, just one final reminder, if any other institutional guests would like to ask Thank you. Peter, it seems we have no more questions at this time. I'll hand back to you. Thank you.
Thanks, Bethany. Thank you all. And you will be able to find this transcript or this recording on our website. And if you do have any queries, please don't hesitate to call John or myself. Have a good day.
Thank you.
Thank you, everyone. As the call has finished, you may disconnect your phone lines. Thank you for attending.