Name of the Project
Kun-Manie nickel/copper sulphide project.

Location
The project is located within the Amur Oblast of the Russian Far East.

Client
Amur Minerals.

Project Description
As at December 31, 2016, five deposits had been identified at the Kun-Manie project – Maly Kurumkon/Flangovy (MKF), Gorny, Vodorazdelny (VOD), Ikenskoe/Sobolevsky (IKEN) and Kubuk (KUB).

A mineral resource estimate has been compiled for MKF, VOD, IKEN and KUB, which has established:
• measured and indicated resources of 81.2-million tonnes grading 0.76% nickel, 021% copper, 0.015% cobalt, 0.17 g/t platinum, 0.18 g/t palladium, and
• inferred resources of 101.3-million tonnes grading 0.76% nickel, 0.20% copper, 0.015% cobalt, 0.17 g/t platinum and 0.18 g/t palladium as at February 10, 2017.

The existing resource at Kun-Manie is projected to support ore production of six-million tonnes a year for 15 years.

Production will include openpit and underground longhole retreat methods. Near-surface mineralisation will be mined by openpit, and deeper continuous high-grade mineralisation will be subject to underground extraction.

Openpit production is planned to be derived from all four deposits. The MKF and KUB deposits will eventually transition to underground production. MKF is the largest of the four deposits and is planned as the start-up deposit for production.

About 18 000 t/d of ore is planned for processing. 

The plant design will allow for the crushing of ore and two-stage grinding followed by classic sulphide flotation. An estimated 394 000 t/y of concentrate is expected to be produced. 

Tailings will be placed in an impoundment area, which has been determined to hold about 90-million tonnes of waste covering a 15-year mine life.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Project value is estimated at between $550-million and $700-million.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Amur has provided a mining potential update for its Kun-Manie project focusing on the IKEN and KUB deposits.

The update follows the 2017 drilling programme, which substantially increased Kun Manie’s mineable potential. The analysis by RPB Global evaluated the potential of the measured and indicated resources (MI option), as well as the measured, indicated and inferred resources (MII option).

Using measured and indicated resources, the total mineable potential at Kun-Manie totals 109.4-million tonnes of ore, containing 721 300 t of nickel and 197 400 t of copper.  The average mine diluted grades are projected to be 0.66% nickel and 0.18% copper. The MI option equates to 18 years of production at six-million tonnes a year.

More than 92% of the combined measured and indicated resource tonnage is projected to be mined, containing 83% of the nickel and 83% of the copper.

The MII option, increases the combined tonnage to 137.7-million tonnes of ore, or about 23 years of total production. Amur has said that about 88% of the measured, indicated and inferred ore tonnage resource is “mined”, with the total contained nickel projected to be 945 700 t and the copper content 262 700 t.

The information from the optimisation study will be incorporated into the project’s prefeasibility study.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
RPMGlobal Asia (openpit designs).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Amur Minerals CEO Robin Young, tel +74212 755615.