PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A prefeasibility study (PFS) into unlisted Balamara Resources’ Sawin thermal coal project, in Poland, has estimated that the project could produce 5.8-million tonnes a year of coal over an initial 51-year mine life.
The project was expected to require a capital investment of $151-million, and would have an average life-of-mine total cash cost of $42.80/t run-of-mine. The feasibility study also estimated that the project would have an after-tax net present value of $921-million and a cumulative free cash flow of $1.7-billion over its mine life.
“This is a tremendous result for our shareholders, which clearly demonstrates the world-class nature of this project," said Balamara MD Mike Ralston.
“The Sawin PFS has exceeded our expectations in almost every respect, demonstrating exceptional returns from what is clearly a tier-one asset with the potential to underpin a very robust, long-life underground coal mining operation.”
Sawin is Balamara’s third and most recently-acquired asset in Poland, following the Mariola and Nowa Ruda coal projects. The mine design is based on a mineral resource of 288.4-million tonnes, and the project is located close to well established rail infrastructure.
“We have said all along that we consider Sawin to be a world-class coal project and these PFS results support this assertion, with the key financial highlights demonstrating the potential to achieve exceptional returns from a relatively low up-front capital spend for an asset of this size and quality,” Ralston said.
Based on the results of the PFS, Balamara has taken the decision to move forward to the next stage of development as soon as possible. Final ore reserve drilling has been planned ahead of a definitive feasibility study in 2016.