Name of the Project
Ewoyaa lithium project.

Location
North of Saltpond, in the Central Region of Ghana.

Project Owner/s
Africa-focused minerals explorer IronRidge Resources.

Project Description
The Ewoyaa lithium project is a hard-rock, pegmatite- and spodumene-rich-hosted system, with mineralisation beginning near surface and extending to depths of more than 200 m.

The width of the pegmatite veins varies from greater than 100 m to less than 1 m, and have a strike length exceeding 20 km of continuous structure. In the more continuous sections of the Ewoyaa Main Zone, the pegmatite thickness is typically 30 m to 60 m.

The project has indicated and inferred resources of 14.5-million tonnes grading 1.31% lithium oxide.

The pegmatite veins have been assessed for openpit mining and processing through a crushing circuit and dense-media separation (DMS) process to produce a coarse spodumene concentrate.

A scoping study has proposed a contract mining operation, mobile contract crushing facility and fixed conventional DMS processing facility capable of treating two-million tonnes a year of ore over an initial eight-year LoM.

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 $539-million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 124%, with a payback of less than one year.

Capital Expenditure
$68-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
IronRidge Resources has found additional high-grade lithium pegmatite drill intersections, including multiple drill intersections of more than 2% lithium oxide, at new targets adjacent to the Ewoyaa lithium project.

The company has a defined Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant mineral resource estimate of 14.5-million tonnes at 1.31% lithium oxide in the inferred and indicated category, including 4.5-million tonnes at 1.39% lithium oxide in the indicated category.

“Targeting a plus-ten-year mine life, it is estimated that every additional year of production will add about $40-million in net present value (NPV) [a year] on a scoping study that has defined a post-tax NPV of $345-million over an eight-year life-of-mine,” CEO Vincent Mascolo has said.

Given the resurgence in the enterprise value and stored energy space, spodumene concentrate pricing is increasing and forecast to climb significantly, which bodes well for improved economics for the Ewoyaa project, IronRidge has noted.

“The project is well leveraged to spodumene concentrate (SC6) pricing; it is estimated that every $25/t SC6 price rise results in an additional $60-million to the post-tax NPV over an eight-year mine life and an additional $75-million to the post-tax NPV over a ten-year mine life.”

Mascolo has added that the company is “well positioned” to take advantage of the increasing demand for lithium and its role in the stored energy transition.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Ashmore Advisory (resource modelling); Mining Focus Consultants (pit optimisation and mine scheduling); NAGROM (beneficiation testwork); ANSTO (conversion testwork); Trinol (process interpretation and design); Zivvo (cash flow modelling); Zivvo and Trinol (operating and capital costs); Primero (site layouts); and First Test Minerals (industrial mineral marketing).

Contact Details for Project Information
IronRidge Resources, tel +61 7 3303 0610 or email info@ironridgeresources.com.au.