Name of the Project
Toliara project.

Location
South-west Madagascar.

Project Owner/s
Base Resources.

Project Description
The outcomes of the definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the Toliara project have closely aligned with the March 2019 feasibility study.

The project is based on the Ranobe deposit, which has total estimated ore reserves of 586-million tonnes at 6.5%. Based on these reserves, Toliara is expected to deliver an average of 780 000 t/y of ilmenite, 53 000 t/y of zircon and a further 7 000 t/y of rutile over the initial 33-year mine life.

The project will be implemented in two stages.

Stage 1 will include the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of:

• heavy mining equipment,
• a dozer mining unit,
• a 1 750 t/h wet concentrator plant,
• a 150 t/h mineral separation plant,
• field services,
• a power generation facility,
• a borefield,
• a camp,
• offices laboratories and workshops,
• a haul/access road and bridge,
• an export facility storage shed, a workshop and offices, and
• a jetty, multibuoy mooring facility and shiploader.
• Stage 2, which will start four years after initial production, will include the
• engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of:
• an identical second dozer mining unit,
• a second wet concentrator plant with a capacity of 825 t/h,
• additional heavy mining equipment,
• upgrading the power plant capacity by 30%,
• adding two boreholes to the borefield, and
• adding one 18-room dormitory to the camp.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create an estimated 754 unskilled, semiskilled, skilled professional, supervisory, superintendent and managerial positions. This excludes the estimated 226 contractors.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $652-million and an internal rate of return of 21.4%, with a capital payback for stages 1 and 2 at 4.25 years.

Capital Expenditure
Stage 1 capital expenditure (capex) is estimated at $442-million for a 13-million-tonne-a-year processing operation. Stage 2 capex, estimated at $69-million, will increase capacity to 19-million tonnes a year.

Planned Start/End Date
The project is expected to start production in June 2022.

Latest Developments
In January 2020, Base Resources released the results of a 29 753 m drill programme undertaken over the course of 2018 and 2019 to test the extent of mineralisation to the west of the existing Ranobe mineral resources and at depth.

With only 67% of samples completed to date, results received have shown some material heavy mineral intercepts, particularly in the lower sand unit to the west of the current Ranobe ore reserves
 

Bulk mineralogical assays are yet to be performed but a preliminary mineralogical assessment of two high-grade lower sand unit intercepts are positive.

These assessments indicate ilmenite, rutile and zircon comprise 50% of the heavy minerals and are in similar proportions to those reported in the existing Ranobe ore reserves estimate, with the remaining heavy minerals showing elevated levels of garnet within the lower sand unit, compared with the upper sand unit (about 30% to 35% of heavy minerals, compared to 1% to 5%). Additionally, there is some indication of increased levels of the higher value chloride ilmenite within the ilmenite.

The separability of the garnet and the opportunity to realise value from it will be assessed as part of any future feasibility studies

Key activities planned for the coming quarter include:

• the start of front-end engineering design activities comprising processing plant engineering, mechanical and electrical equipment selection.
• tender evaluation and preferred contractor selection for key packages including marine engineering procurement and construction, export facility earthworks, piling at the export facility, bridge, power, fuel and camp operations.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

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