Name of the Project
Wolfsberg lithium project.

Location
Austria.

Client
European Lithium.

Project Description
The mine design for the Wolfsberg project is based on the use of only the measured and indicated resource of 6.3-million tonnes at 1.17% lithium oxide. A prefeasibility study (PFS) completed on the project has outlined the development of an underground mine producing an average of 620 000 t/y run-of-mine (RoM) product, from stoping and development over a 12-year life-of-mine.

Ore sorters will be used to reject waste from the RoM so that concentrator feed will average about 400 000 t/y. The concentrator will produce an average of 55 400 t/y spodumene concentrate, with 114 000 t/y feldspar and 71 000 t/y quartz as by-products. The lithium in the spodumene concentrate will be converted into an average of 8 400 t/y lithium hydroxide monohydrate at a hydrometallurgy plant about 20 km south of Wolfsberg.

During the development of the mine plan it became evident that, with extra equipment and improved scheduling, the mining rate could be increased to about 720 000 t/y. This accelerated case will result in the measured and indicated resources of the base case being mined and processed in 10 years rather than 12. The 20% increase in processing rate will result in lithium hydroxide monohydrate production increasing to an average of 10 129 t/y. Longhole openstoping has been selected as the preferred mining method.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The base case has a pretax NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of $263.2-million, which increases to $339.4-million in the accelerated case. The internal rate of return in the base case is 21.2% and increases to 25.6 in the accelerated case.

Value
In the base case, capital expenditure is estimated $388.6-million and in the accelerated case $423.6-million.

Duration
The project schedule estimates a 25-month development period from the release of funding/permits to full production.

Latest Developments
A definitive feasibility study is expected to start in July and be completed by the end of the year.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
DRA Global (PFS lead and integration, pro-cess and infrastructure engineering, capital and operating cost estimates for process and infrastructure, construction planning and financial modelling); Dorfner Anzaplan (metallurgical testwork in support of DRA process engineering); SRK Consulting (mining engineering and mine capital and operating cost estimates, geotechnical engineering, hydrogeology and ore reserves); Paterson & Cooke (tailings design with capital and operating cost estimate); Umweltbüro (environmental study); Benchmark Minerals Intelligence (marketing study lithium carbonate/hydroxide); Orykton Consulting (marketing study spodumene and by-products); Al Maynard & Associates (geology from independent geology report for European Lithium Prospectus July 28, 2016).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
European Lithium, tel +61 8 6181 9792 or email info@europeanlithium.com.