Name of the Project
Toliara mineral sands project.

Location
The project is based on the Ranobe deposit, located 45 km north Toliara on a 125.4 km² mining lease, in Madagascar.

Project Owner/s
African mineral sands producer Base Resources.

Project Description
An enhanced definitive feasibility study (DFS) has delivered a substantial improvement on the 2019 DFS.

The scaled-up project now supports average production of 960 000 t/y of ilmenite, 66 000 t/y of zircon and 8 000 t/y of rutile in Stage 1, with the first ten years of Stage 2 operations (Year 6 to Year 16) materially higher at 1.21-million tonnes a year of ilmenite, 82 000 t/y of zircon and 9 000 t/y of rutile.

The life-of-mine (LoM) of the project has increased from 33 years in the 2019 DFS to 38 years in the enhanced DFS. Total LoM production is estimated at 55.6-million tonnes.

Stage 1 comprises engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of heavy mobile equipment, a dry mining unit, 1 750 t/h wet concentrator plant, a 150 t/h mineral separation plant, filed services, a power generation facility, a borefield, a camp, offices laboratories and workshops, a haul/access road and a bridge, an export facility storage shed, workshop and offices, as well as a jetty multibuoy mooring facility and a shiploader.

Stage 2 production will start about four years after Stage 1 mining has started. It will comprise the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of a second dry mining unit, a second 1 750 t/h wet concentrator plant, upgrading the mineral separation facility from 150 t/h to 220 t/h, additional heavy mobile equipment, upgrading the power plant capacity to accommodate increased process plant power demand and additional boreholes to accommodate increased water demand.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The post-tax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, has increased from $652-million in the 2019 DFS to $1.1-billion in the 2021 DFS. The internal rate of return has increased from 21.4% in the 2019 DFS to 23.8% in the enhanced DFS. Capital payback for Stage 1 and 2 has increased from 4.3 year to 4.5 years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial Stage 1 capital expenditure (capex) has increased from $442-million in the 2019 DFS to $520-million. Stage 2 capex has increased from $69-million to $69-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Construction on Stage 1 is expected to take 27 months and on Stage 2 21 months.

Latest Developments
After the delivery of the DFS in November 2019, a significant amount of the front-end engineering design has been completed, preferred suppliers have been appointed for several key contract packages and lender due diligence is well advanced.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Base Resources manager of communications and investor relations James Fuller, tel +61 8 9413 7426 or email jfuller@baseresources.com.au.