PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A bankable feasibility study (BFS) into the Tres Estradas phosphate project, in Brazil, has estimated that the project would require a capital investment of $83.9-million to produce a total of 43.5-million tonnes of ore.
ASX-listed Aguia Resources said that the project will include an openpit, truck-and-shovel operation over the initial 16-year mine life, with the project expected to have a further 20-year mine life delivering aglime products that will be reclaimed from the tailings dam.
With an average capacity of 300 000 t/y of phosrock, the average annual feed into the processing plant is expected to be 1.3-million tonnes of the oxide ore in Phase 1 of the operation, resulting in a life-of-mine production of 4.7-million tonnes of phosphate concentrate and antoher 32.9-million tonnes of aglime.
The project is estimated to have a pre-tax net present value of $300-million and an internal rate of return of 21%, while Phase 1 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization is expected to be$28-million, a further $37-million for Phase 2 and $26-million for Phase 3.
“These new and robust economic results are the result of an extensive analysis that has been conducted over the last year and satisfy our objective of designing a simple and efficient project that delivers significant value for Aguia shareholders,” said technical director Fernando Tallarico.
Aguia has completed a detailed survey of the project area and has filed the environmental impact assessment with the local environmental agency. The company was hoping to have a preliminary license for Tres Estradas granted within the next three to four months.
The company was also exploring the adjacent properties with the hopes of expanding the mine life of Tres Estradas