PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A bankable feasibility study (BFS) into the Mt Carbine tungsten project, in Queensland, has estimated that the project would require a capital expenditure of A$19-million.
ASX-listed EQ Resources on Monday told shareholders that the BFS into the Mt Carbine expansion project contemplated a 12-year operation, which focuses on an openpit development of the Andy White deposit, supplemented with processing of 12-million tonnes of low-grade stockpiled ore.
The openpit ore would be processed in the third and fourth year of operations, and would produce operational pre-tax cash flows of A$38-million and A$95-million respectively. The project would also have a net present value of A$131.5-million and an internal rate of return of 154%.
The BFS outlines a phased investment approach, with Phase 1 and Phase 2 allowing the company to restart the open pit and to generate positive cash flow without over-capitalising the project, in advance of Phase 3 which plans to expand the pit and rehabilitate underground workings.
A potential expanded ore reserve from the open pit, as well as conceptual design and costing for an underground mining operation, in Phase 3, will be developed in a separate scoping study that EQ Resources will be preparing throughout the first quarter of 2022.
“The study is the culmination of more than 12 months’ work from EQ Resource’s people and our consultants, aimed at de-risking the mining and processing of the on-ground low-grade stockpile and the Andy White openpit higher-grade ore,” said CEO Kevin MacNeill.
“We have quickly demonstrated the significant value in the company’s high grade open pit resource which delivers strong cash flow in years three and four where the openpit ore will be processed for a relatively small level of capex investment. Our significant underground resource, which equates to approximately 80% of the company’s total in-situ resource of 9.21-million tonnes, has not been included in the BFS and will form part of the scoping study.
“The company has made a substantial investment in exploration and early works which is already included in the projected capital cost of Phase 1 and Phase 2 development. Concentrate production has been rising as this capital equipment has come online, giving the team enormous confidence in the assumptions contained in the study,” said MacNeill.
“As the BFS has now been finalised and is supporting further discussions with various financial institutions, we are confident in being able to execute our plan and to build a sustainable mine with a circular outcome as we produce tungsten concentrate with a low carbon footprint and utilise waste rock in our growing Mt Carbine Quarry business. Phase 3 is already firmly in our planning as we seek to return Mt Carbine to its former glory using high-tech ore-sorting and low-impact processing techniques to produce a very saleable product.”