Aim-listed Amur Minerals’ Kun-Manie nickel/copper sulphide project has now been sufficiently explored, with numerous studies having confirmed its technical and economic potential to produce class-one nickel suited for the expected growth of the electronic vehicle market.

To build on its exploration success, the junior on Monday unveiled a four-pronged strategic plan for the future development of the project, focusing on the engineering to a bankable feasibility study (BFS) level, off-site infrastructure, the engagement of a strategic partner and advancing a phased funding approach.

“Amur recognised that it must undertake all future development in a structured manner that will ensure the best outcome for all stakeholders. It also understands that, in order to bring a project of this scale into production, substantial financial commitments will be required,” CEO Robin Young said.

This, he explained, was likely to mean that the company would engage with one or more strategic partners, as well as various other groups that had the expertise to assist Amur in delivering the project to its full potential.

“These future relationships will encompass business sectors including operations at the mine, a major road construction project, rail load out facilities, a potential furnace / flash smelter, transport of the product across international borders and regulatory considerations within both Russia and the nations to which the product will be delivered,” he elaborated.

The strategic plan will also address the technical and financial challenges that a junior miner, such as Amur, faces when it controls 100% of the largest undeveloped nickel sulphide project immediately adjacent to the world’s three largest nickel consumers.

Under the engineering portion of the plan, Amur is in the process of compiling a prefeasibility study identifying requirements for, and the costing of, engineering works required to take the Kun-Manie project, located within the Amur Oblast of the Russian Far East, to a BFS level.

The company anticipates that project funding will eventually be implemented through a consortium of financial institutions, and that the work will be completed to internationally recognised standards, including Equator Principles related to environmental approvals.

There is the potential that the BFS work will be undertaken in conjunction with one or more strategic partners and this may influence the engineering works required to be undertaken in the lead-up to the start of project construction.

In terms of off-site infrastructure, development on the access road for the project will be completed in a series of steps with the next being the completion of detailed ground survey work allowing for the refinement of final route selection to appropriately identify bridging requirements along the route.

Amur is holding discussions with Russian State authorities and Russian infrastructure funding organisations to identify and develop financing options for the access road, the company said.

With regards to the rail siding plans, these were at an early and high-level stage of development. Amur explained that it would continue developing the plans for the identification of a rail siding location and include the required costing for the acquisition and construction plans.

Referring to the transport requirements of the project, the company said that it would continue working with GEFCO, under the memorandum of cooperation signed in July 2018, to develop definitive logistical solutions to support project construction, mine operation and product transport.

Further, Amur has identified potential partners in Russia, China, Japan and South Korea, which would undertake site visits to Kun-Manie.

Potential strategic partners, the company said, could be defined as established mining corporates, smelting corporates, commodity traders, private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors.

In terms of the phased funding segment of the plan, Amur is in the process of completing detailed plans for, and costing of, the engineering work to complete a full BFS. There is a strong possibility that this engineering work will be undertaken with a strategic partner. Should this be the case, the funding for this work may be a product of a strategic partner agreement, which may be at either the company or asset level, Amur pointed out.

The near-term funding objectives for the company will be to maintain the company in a strong financial position while it continues to advance the project up the mining value curve and identify and engage with the necessary expertise to assist Amur in developing Kun-Manie to its full potential.

"Going forward, Amur and its management team will be working to progress the Kun-Manie project up the mining value curve, although this will now feature more corporate and project development work rather than exploration work,” Young commented.