PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Initial studies into an expanded plant at the Baobab phosphate project, in Senegal, have estimated that the project would require a capital investment of $53.4-million to increase nameplate capacity from the current 500 000 t/y to one-million tonnes a year of high-grade phosphate rock concentrate.
ASX-listed Avenira on Tuesday reported that the expansion should significantly improve product specifications and would place the Baobab project in a globally competitive operating cost position.
The 500 000 t/y processing plant was commissioned in August of last year, with two full cargoes having been sold and shipped since commissioning.
However, Avenira told shareholders that the current processing plant design was considered suboptimal, owing to the simple wet-screening technique employed. This has resulted in low product recovery and high unit operating costs, making the existing operation financially unsustainable in the current price environment.
Avenira undertook a strategic review earlier this year, proposing a significant plant expansion and upgrade to overcome the existing plant’s shortcomings, and to allow the Baobab project to become a key concentrate supplier.
“Now that we have seen the conceptual engineering study results, I am confident that our strategic plan will put Avenira’s Baobab phosphate project on a solid, long-term sustainable footing,” said Avenira MD and CEO Louis Calvarin.
The company will now look to complete engineering and feasibility studies while also securing offtake, approvals and financing for the expansion.
A final investment decision on the expansion was targeted for the second quarter of 2018.