PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A scoping study into the Buena Vista iron-ore project, in Nevada, has estimated that the project could produce 1.6-million tonnes a year of concentrate over a mine life of 25 years.
ASX-listed Magnum Mining & Exploration on Monday said that the study was based on a standalone openpit mine producing direct reduction iron magnetite concentrate.
The mine is expected to produce 7.2-million tonnes of ore and 3.6-million tonnes of waste yearly from the West deposit.
The scoping study estimated a capital cost of between $182-million and $378-million and an operating cost of between $44/t and $90/t, with the internal rate of return ranging between 26% and 54%, and the net present value between $360-million and $745-million.
Magnum told shareholders that the company would embark on a prefeasibility study for the Buena Vista project within a year, followed by a feasibility study. The company is currently seeking funding to advance these studies and secure funding optionality for project development.
Meanwhile, additional drilling will be undertaken to convert some of the current indicated resource into probable reserves.
The Buena Vista site is a fully permitted mine, owing to its previous history of production, and is entirely located on private land.