PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A prefeasibility study into the Authier lithium project, in Canada, has estimated that the project will require a capital investment of C$66-million to deliver some 99 000 t/y of spodumene.
ASX-listed Sayona Mining said on Thursday that based on a maiden ore reserve of 10.2-million tonnes, at 1.02% lithium oxide, the project is expected to have a pre-tax net present value of C$140-million and a pre-tax internal rate of return of 39%.
Based on an initial mine life of 13 years, the project is expected to deliver a life-of-mine (LoM) revenue of C$978-million from the sale of 1.45-million tonnes of spodumene concentrate.
Average LoM cash costs have been estimated at C$367/t.
“The company is very pleased to demonstrate Authier’s potential to create significant shareholder value,” said Sayona CEO Corey Nolan.
Sayona is looking at a number of optimisation options to enhance the value of the project, including additional definition and expansion drilling to expand the size of the resource, further geotechnical work to assess the potential for a steeper hanging wall pit slope, expanding production capacity once the operation is in production and further metallurgical testwork to improve processing recoveries and concentrate grades.
The company is also progressing its environmental and mining lease permits, while also completing a definitive feasibility study and offtake contracts and financing this year.