Name of the Project
Kalongwe copper/cobalt project.

Location
The project is located in the Kolwezi region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Client
The project is owned by Kalongwe Mining SA under a joint venture agreement between Nzuri Copper (85%), La Generale Industrielle et Commerciale au Congo (10%) and the DRC government (5%).

Project Description
Nzuri Copper has completed an updated feasibility study for the proposed Stage 1 development of the Kolongwe project.

The study has significantly increased the key financial metrics of the project using revised cobalt pricing of $81 500/t and a different point of delivery – Kolwezi as opposed to Lubumbashi. Further, it includes an updated Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant reserve of 7.99-million tonnes, grading 2.94% copper and 0.34% cobalt for 234 868 t of contained copper and 27 102 t of contained cobalt.

The project scope and capital requirements for Stage 1 have remained unchanged. These comprise an openpit mine and on-site one-million-tonne-a-year dense-media separation (DMS) processing plant to produce two high-quality dry saleable concentrate products suitable as a feedstock for off-site solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) processing.

Incorporating the revised pricing and point of delivery, the project is forecast to produce 137 848 t/y of DMS and spiral concentrate products, equivalent to average metal production of 18 657 t/y of copper and 1 370 t/y of cobalt over an eight-year mine life.

The updated feasibility study assumes transporting the concentrate 77 km by road to Kolwezi.

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of SX-EW processing has also been completed, which highlights further potential increases to the returns and mine life from higher copper/cobalt output and revenue.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value (NPV), at a 10% discount rate, of $186-million, compared with the initial 2017 feasibility study pretax NPV, at a 10% discount rate, of $116-million.

The internal rate of return (IRR) has been estimated at 99%, compared with the initial 2017 feasibility study IRR of 71%.

The updated Stage 1 feasibility study has estimated project payback of 17 months, compared with the initial 2017 feasibility study project payback of 21 months.

Value
The capital expenditure has remained the same for the updated feasibility study and the initial 2017 feasibility study at $53.12-million.

Duration
The project is expected to take about 12 months to construct.

Latest Developments
Nzuri Copper has secured a loan facility of A$3-million from major shareholder Tembo Capital Mining to advance its Kalongwe copper/cobalt project.

The unsecured loan will have a maturity date of nine months once the definitive agreement has been signed, and will attract an interest rate of 10% a year, which will be payable on the maturity date.

The proceeds will strengthen the company’s balance sheet, ensuring that Nzuri is in a strong position to maintain the current momentum of its financing and predevelopment activities at Kalongwe, without having to undertake a dilutive raising in the current market conditions.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Orelogy (ore reserve estimate) and Lycopodium Minerals (PEA).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Nzuri Copper, tel +61 8 6424 8100 or email info@nzuricopper.com.au.