London-listed nickel/copper-sulphide mineral explorer Amur Minerals on Thursday provided a mining potential update for its Kun-Manie project, in Russia’s Far East, focusing on the Ikenskoe/Sobolevsky (IKEN) and Kubuk (KUB) deposits.

The update follows the 2017 drilling programme, which substantially increased Kun Manie’s mineable potential. The analysis by RPB Global evaluated the potential of the measured and indicated resources (MI option), as well as the measured, indicated and inferred resources (MII option).

Using measured and indicated resources, the total mineable potential at Kun-Manie totals 109.4-million ore tonnes containing 721 300 t of nickel and 197 400 t of copper.  The average mine diluted grades are projected to be 0.66% nickel and 0.18% copper. The MI option equates to 18 years of production at six-million tonnes a year.

The MI option is estimated to deliver earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of $2.7-billion for a toll-smelting option and $4.7-billion for an owner operated low-grade matte (LGM) generation facility.

More than 92% of the combined measured and indicated resource tonnage is projected to be mined, containing 83% of the nickel and 83% of the copper.

Including the inferred resources, or the MII option, pushes up the combined tonnage to 137.7-million tonnes of ore, or about 23 years of total production. Amur says that about 88% of the measures, indicated and inferred ore tonnage resource is “mined”, with the total contained nickel projected to be 945 700 t and the copper content 262 700 t.

The toll smelting option will deliver Ebitda of $3.7-billion and the LGM production facility, an Ebitda of $6.7-billion.

Currently, the prefeasibility study for Kun Manie is based on a 15-year production life, while the April 2018 mining potential update identified 12 years of production. Amur says that the newly acquired results will likely surpass the current 15-year production plan. 

“Having one of the world's largest undeveloped nickel copper sulphide deposits on China's door step is indeed very positive for the company.  The fact that our estimations indicate much of this resource is profitable at today's nickel price is very encouraging,” CEO Robin Young says.

“Detailed internal discussions are ongoing in relation to how this information is incorporated into the prefeasibility study being prepared by the company.  The key item is the adjustment to the production schedule and timing of the grade of ore delivered to the mill,” he adds.

The information from the optimisation study will be incorporated into the project’s prefeasibility study.