Name of the Project
Telkwa metallurgical coal project.

Location
British Columbia, Canada.

Client
Allegiance Coal.

Project Description
A Stage 1 prefeasibility study (PFS) has reinforced the viability of the Telkwa metallurgical coal project as a standalone small mine operation positioned in the lowest five percentile of the global seaborne metallurgical-coal cost curve. The mine complex – equipment, washplant and infrastructure – has a production capacity of 250 000 t/y of saleable coal that can instantly be ramped up to 500 000 t/y without further capital.

All coal production in the Stage 1 PFS is in the Tenas pit at 250 000 t/y of saleable coal. At this rate of production, with 21-million tonnes of saleable coal reserves, the Tenas pit has a potential mine life of more than 80 years at a life-of-mine strip ratio of 6.5:1 bank cubic metre (BCM)/run-of-mine tonnes (RoMt).

The Stage 1 PFS limited itself to a 19-year mine life at a strip ratio of 1.9:1 BCM/ROMt. However, the Tenas pit offers excellent opportunity to increase production and secure a long sustainable mine life.

Start-up primary production equipment will also be very simple, comprising one 5ʺ drill rig for blasting, one 100 t excavator, four 50 t dump trucks, two D8 bulldozers (or equivalent) and one front-end loader.

The Stage 1 PFS assumes coal will be washed through a standalone 100 t/h washplant with dense-media cyclones for course material and flotation for fine coal.

Washed coal will be stockpiled at the washplant, then trucked 24.3 km along forestry and public roads to the rail siding.

An 800 m rail siding will be built to receive fifteen 110 t coal wagons during Stage 1. Coal will be dropped onto a pad with a storage capacity of 3 300 t. Coal will be loaded using a front-end loader. The rail siding is on government- and CN Rail-owned land, and does not require the acquisition of any privately owned land. Once loaded, the coal will be hauled 360 km to the Ridley Island Coal Terminal (RICT) 9. The RICT currently has an 18-million-tonne-a-year handling capacity, which can be expanded to 25-million tonnes a year within 24 months.

Potential Job Creation
All operations personnel, totalling 35, and trade technicians, will be sourced locally from the towns of Telkwa, Smithers (12 km), and Houston (50 km), which contain a skilled workforce with extensive experience in forestry and hard-rock mining.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an unleveraged pretax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $51-million, and an internal rate of return of 32%, with a payback of 3.5 years.

Value
The project is estimated at $35.1-million.

Duration
A significant reduction in start-up capital expenditure has been achieved from the staged production PFS completed in July 2017.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Allegiance Coal, tel +61 2 9233 5579 or fax +61 2 9233 1349.