PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed Greenland Minerals and Energy has reported a maiden ore reserve of 108-million tonnes for its Kvanefjeld rare earths/uranium project, in Greenland.
“An initial ore reserve of 108-million tonnes is an outstanding result, and is another really important project milestone,” said Greenland MD John Mair.
“It takes a lot of work across numerous disciplines to achieve this level of confidence. The ore reserve reinforces Kvanefjeld’s status as one of the most advanced and significant emerging projects in the rare earths and uranium sectors globally.”
The ore reserve is situated in the upper part of the Kvanefjeld deposit, the largest of three defined mineral resources within the broader Kvanefjeld project area. At the projected production rate of three-million tonnes a year, the initial reserve was sufficient to sustain a 37-year operation, including ramp-up, Mair said.
A recent feasibility study into the Kvanefjeld project, based on a previously defined mineral resource estimate, projected that the project would require a capital investment of $1.36-billion, and would have a net present value of $1.4-billion and an internal rate of return of 21.8%.
The base case scenario evaluated the development of a mine, mineral concentrator, refinery and supporting infrastructure in the south-west of Greenland, treating three-million tonnes a year of ore.