PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A bankable feasibility study (BFS) into ASX-listed Tigers Realm Coal’s Amaam North project, in Russia, has revealed that the project could be one of the lowest operating cost coking coal mines in the world.
Based on a planned production of about one-million tonnes a year of coking coal, over an 11-year mine life, the project was expected to have an openpit free-on-board cash cost of $68.50/t. Post ramp-up, and from 2018 onwards, the project would have a free-on-board cash cost of $65/t.
The BFS was based on Project F, which was estimated to host an openpit resource of 14-million tonnes run-of-mine coal. Coal would be transported by truck from the mine site to port, on a 35 km road, which would be constructed in the second half of 2016.
Initial thermal coal products would be transported to the port via a winter ice-road in the first half of 2016.
The BFS estimated that a capital injection of some $121.7-million would be required to establish the operation, with the life-of-mine capital costs estimated at $133.3-million.
The Amaam North project was expected to have an after tax net present value of $155-million, and an internal rate of return of 28%.
“The completion of the BFS is a key milestone on our path to rapidly becoming a coking coal producer. The results confirm that Project F is economically viable and has the potential to be one of the lowest cost mining and export coking coal operations in the world,” said Tigers Realm CEO Craig Parry.
“We have in place our starter mine and development fleet, and we expect to have Project F’s mining licence soon.”
Parry added that with the interest that Tigers Realm has received for project funding, the company was on target to become a coal producer by the end of 2015.