Name of the Project
Loki flake graphite project.

Location
Saskatchewan, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Canadian mineral exploration company Abasca Resources

Project Description
A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) has shown the Loki deposit as a long-life graphite development project.

The PEA proposes a 2 750 t/d conventional openpit mining and processing operation with a 19-year mine life. The operation is expected to average 66 500 t/y of graphite concentrate (with an average 95% grade) and 1.26-million tonnes of payable graphite over the life-of-mine. 

The project benefits from existing transportation infrastructure, proximity to a provincial power network, and favourable site characteristics that support future development

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
At a graphite price of $1 450/t the project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $161-million and an internal rate of return of 16.6%, with a payback of 6.2 years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $216-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not disclosed.

Latest Developments
Abasca believes the project is well positioned to advance to feasibility-level engineering.

Future work is expected to focus on metallurgical optimisation; geotechnical and hydrogeological investigations; detailed mine, infrastructure, tailings engineering, and environmental studies; and continued refinement of the project’s capital and operating cost estimates.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Tetra Tech Canada Inc (PEA); and Understood Minerals Resources (geology/mineral resources).

Contact Details for Project Information
Athabasca Resources, tel +1 306 933 4261 or email info@abasca.ca.