Name of the Project
Kalongwe copper/cobalt project.

Location
Kolwezi region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Client
Nzuri Copper (formerly Regal Resources).

Project Description
The results of a Stage 1 feasibility study have confirmed Kalongwe to be an outstanding project, characterised by high copper and cobalt grades, low capital and operating costs and strong financial returns.

The feasibility study project has a maiden reserve of 6.98-million tonnes at 3.03% copper and 0.36% cobalt for 211 494 t of contained copper and 25 128 t of contained cobalt.

The proposed mining method is conventional openpit mining. Mining operations will use conventional drill-and-blast, truck-and-shovel openpit mining methods and technologies.

The treatment plant design includes:
• primary crushing to produce a coarse, crushed product;
• a live surge bin with dead stockpile, from which mineralised material can be reclaimed using a vibrating pan feeder to feed the scrubber and the one-million-tonne-a-year dense-medium separation (DMS) circuit;
• scrubber and secondary crushing, with a cone crusher in closed circuit and a screen to produce feed for the DMS circuit;
• a DMS circuit using two single-stage modules to produce a rejects stream and concentrate product;
• desliming of scrubber wet screen undersize to produce a mineralised sands product that is further treated using a spirals circuit to produce a spirals concentrate product;
• a DMS mineralised coarse rejects stream conveyed and stacked in a waste storage area;
• a DMS and spiral concentrate bagging station; and
• tailings thickening before pumping to the tailings storage facility.

The project is forecast to produce 143 000 t/y of DMS and spiral concentrate products, equivalent to an average metal production of about 19 630 t/y of copper and 1 507 t/y of cobalt.

The project is expected to have a seven-year mine life.

The feasibility study has also highlighted the significant upside that could be unlocked through future project expansions, including the potential for the leaching of cobalt-only ore and mineralised rejects, potential offtake to some of the closer, new solvent extraction-electrowinning plants under construction in the region, and the significant exploration upside in the immediate Kalongwe licence area and regionally.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at 10% discount rate, of $116-million and an internal rate of return of 71%, with a payback of 21 months.

Value
Capital expenditure has been estimated at $53.12-million.

Duration
Construction is expected to take 12 months to complete.

Latest Developments
With the Stage 1 feasibility study complete, Nzuri has a wide range of options available to secure a funding package that will minimise dilution to existing shareholders and maximise returns from the project. These include funding provided by potential offtake and strategic partners, as well as conventional debt funding.

Nzuri’s immediate focus over the next few months will be to close out one or more of these opportunities while trying to unlock the huge upside on offer at Kalongwe.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Nzuri Copper, tel +61 8 6424 8100 or email info@nzuricopper.com.au.