Name of the Project
Toliara mineral sands project.
Location
South-west Madagascar.
Project Owner/s
Base Resources.
Project Description
The outcomes of the definitive feasibility study on the Toliara project have closely aligned with the March 2019 feasibility study.
The project is based on the Ranobe deposit, which has total estimated ore reserves of 586-million tonnes at 6.5% heavy minerals and 3.9% slag ilmenite. Based on these reserves, Toliara is expected to deliver an average of 780 000 t/y of ilmenite, 53 000 t/y of zircon and a further 7 000 t/y of rutile over the initial 33-year mine life. The project will be implemented in two stages. Stage 1 will include the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) of:
• heavy mining equipment,
• a dozer mining unit,
• a 1 750 t/h wet concentrator plant,
• a 150 t/h mineral separation plant,
• field services,
• a power generation facility,
• a borefield,
• a camp,
• offices laboratories and workshops,
• a haul/access road and bridge,
• an export facility storage shed, a workshop and offices, and
• a jetty, multibuoy mooring facility and shiploader. Stage 2, which will start four years after initial production, will include the EPCC of:
• an identical second dozer mining unit,
• a second wet concentrator plant with a capacity of 825 t/h,
• additional heavy mining equipment,
• upgrading the power plant capacity by 30%,
• adding two boreholes to the borefield, and
• adding one 18-room dormitory to the camp.
Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create an estimated 754 unskilled, semiskilled, skilled professional, supervisory, superintendent and managerial positions. This excludes the estimated 226 contractors.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $652-million and an internal rate of return of 21.4%, with a capital payback for stages 1 and 2 at 4.25 years.
Capital Expenditure
Stage 1 capital expenditure (capex) is estimated at $442-million for a 13-million-tonne-a-year processing operation. Stage 2 capex, estimated at $69-million, will increase capacity to 19-million tonnes a year.
Planned Start/End Date
The project is expected to start in June 2022.
Latest Developments
Base Resources plans to focus on concluding offtake and funding arrangements as it works towards a final investment decision, planned for September 2020. Over the course of 2020, the company also aims to upgrade the Ranobe mineral resources and ore reserves estimates, following the geological interpretation of definitional drilling completed in early 2019.
Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.
Contact Details for Project Information
Base Resources communications and investor relations manager James Fuller, tel +61 8 9413 7426 or email jfuller@baseresources.com.au.