Name of the Project
Dumont nickel/cobalt project.
Location
Albiti region, Quebec, Canada.
Client
RNC Minerals.
Project Description
The Dumont project has proven and probable reserves of 1.18-billion tonnes grading 0.27% nickel, 107 parts per million of cobalt, 0.019 g/t palladium and 0.009 g/t platinum.
A bankable feasibility study (BFS) has demonstrated a technically and economically sound project, with an after-tax net present value of $1.1-billion.
Nickel production at the project is expected to be among the top five nickel sulphide operations worldwide (by nickel production), with initial nickel production expected at 73-million pounds a year, increasing in the fifth year to an a average of 113-million pounds a year for the remainder of the 20-year mine life.
The BFS envisages a conventional openpit mine/mill operation using conventional drilling, blasting and loading, with a combination of hydraulic and electric rope shovels and truck haulage.
The mine is designed to produce ore at about twice the capacity of the mill, which will mitigate the risk of feed shortages and allow for the highest-value material to be prioritised and processed accordingly. As a result, an ore stockpile will be generated to continue to feed the mill for an additional 13 years at the end of the mine life, with the tailings deposited in the openpit.
The process plant will be constructed in two phases. Phase 1 will have an initial average throughput of 52 500 t/d using a semiautogenous mill, two ball mills for grinding and cyclones for desliming, as well as conventional flotation and magnetic separation to produce a nickel concentrate also containing cobalt and platinum-group elements.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate of, $2-billion and an internal rate of return of 18.7%, with an after-tax payback of 6.1 years.
Value
The project is estimated at $1.27-billion.
Duration
Not stated.
Latest Developments
RNC Minerals is engaging several potential strategic investors, offtake partners and financiers who could provide the estimated $1.3-billion capital financing required to start construction of the shovel-ready Dumont nickel/cobalt project.
The company has said that given the forecast explosive growth in nickel and cobalt demand from the electric vehicle (EV) market over the coming decade, Dumont’s time has come.
RNC hopes to make a construction decision on the project by 2019, pending financing and market conditions at that time.
Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.
On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.
Contact Details for Project Information
RNC Minerals, Rob Buchanan, tel + 1 416 363 0649 or email rbuchanan@royalnickel.com.