PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed uranium junior Boss Resources has revealed a three tiered re-start strategy for its Honeymoon uranium project, in South Australia.
The company on Monday told shareholders that the re-start strategy has already commenced.
Phase 1 of the strategy will see Boss generate the final input data required for the definitive feasibility study, including the drilling programme to deliver a measured and indicated resource, an optimisation programme to deliver cost savings and process improvements, and a preliminary execution plan.
Phase 2 will consist of the definitive feasibility study and permitting updates, while Phase 3 covers the detailed execution planning and operational readiness.
“Phase 1 of the re-start strategy has commenced and the company’s initial activities are focused on the planning and preparation of the infill and step-out drill programme. Consultants and engineering support for optimsiation and trade-off studies have been identified and proposals are currently being finalised,” said Boss MD Duncan Craib.
“The company will provide ongoing updates as the re-start strategy progresses, with Phase 2 planned to commence in early 2019, and Phase 3 starting later that year.”
Craib said that on completion of the three-phase strategy, Boss would be in a position to make a decision to proceed to mine, assuming a specified global uranium price has been achieved to satisfy the targeted internal rate of return and net present value return to maximise shareholder value.
Honeymoon was placed on care and maintenance in 2015, and has some A$170-million of established infrastructure already in place.
A prefeasibility study has estimated that the restart would require a capital investment of $68-million, and could produce an average of 3.2-million pounds of uranium oxide a year at an average life-of-mine all-in sustaining cost of $23.90/lb.
The restart of the solvent extraction plant is expected to produce some 0.88-million pounds a year, with a restart potential of nine months, while the ion exchange plant will produce around two-million pounds a year, with a construction timeframe of 24 months.
In addition to the current mineral resource estimate of 43.5-million tonnes, containing some 63.3-million pounds of uranium, Honeymoon also has an exploration target of between 32-million tonnes and 78-milliontonnes with grades of between 450 parts per million and 1 400 parts per million.