Name of the Project
Mt Peake vanadium/titanium/iron project.

Location
Northern Territory, Australia.

Project Owner/s
TNG.

Project Description
As part of the ongoing front-end engineering design process for its Mt Peake project, TNG has optimised its planned execution and delivery strategy for the project, delivering savings and reductions in upfront capital costs while maintaining robust economics.

Discussions have confirmed that simplifying the project towards a one-stage build while minimising capacity and capital expenditure (capex) is best suited to the targeted debt/equity structure for the project.

The Mt Peake mine site will involve mining the titanomagnetite ore and recovering the magnetite in a concentrate through a beneficiation process.

The company and its advisers have selected a development strategy based on an initial production rate of two-million tonnes a year of ore throughput at the beneficiation plant, corresponding to 100 000 t/y of titanium oxide pigment through the proposed TIVAN processing plant. At a later date, after the financial completion of the construction and operation of the two-million-tonne-a-year plant, TNG may consider the option to expand production capacity.

Previous feasibility studies were conducted using three-million tonnes a year of run-of-mine (RoM) production capacity during an initial production stage and increasing capacity to six-million tonnes a year of RoM by expanding the plant after four years of production.

Under the new mining schedule, the life-of-mine (LoM) has been extended to 37 years, from the previously planned 20-year LoM.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The updated pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, is estimated at A$2.8-billion, with an internal rate of return of 33% and a payback of 2.8 years.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capex is estimated at A$824-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
TNG has received conditional support for up to A$200-million in debt funding from the Export Credit Agency Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) for the development of its Mt Peake project.

The conditional letter of support received from K-SURE follows the recent receipt of letters of support and interest from German and Australian export credit agencies totalling A$600-million, taking the total in conditional interest from Australian, German and Korean government-backed funding sources for the Mt Peake project to up to A$800-million.

TNG has also received expressions of interest from seven Australian and International commercial and investment banks for financing the commercial component of the debt for the project.

TNG has said that with the combination of the significant government-related funding and the substantial interest received from the commercial debt market, the company is confident that its project financing strategy for Mt Peake is firmly on track.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Snowden Mining Industry Consultants (revised mining strategy); Como Engineering (beneficiation plant – recoveries, operating expenditure and capex); McMahon Services (infrastructure – operating and capital expenditure); SMS (process plant flowsheets); METS Engineering (process plant construction and operating expenditure); and Clough (lead engineering and the preferred engineering, procurement and construction contractor).

Contact Details for Project Information
TNG, tel +61 8 9327 0900 or email corporate@tngltd.com.au.