PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The board of triple-listed Jervois Mining has approved the $78.4-million construction of the Idaho operation (ICO), in the US, following the successful pricing of a $100-million bonds offering.
The ASX-, TSX-V and OTC-listed Jervois on Tuesday said that first production from ICO was still expected from mid-2022.
The project was partially constructed when Jervois acquired it in July 2019, with more than $120-million invested by the previous owners since the discovery of the cobalt deposit.
The final construction of ICO will include the development of an underground mine over a ten-month period, starting in September this year, with first ore scheduled to an operational mill by July 2022.
The operation would comprise a 1 200 t/d mill and concentrator to produce separated cobalt and copper concentrates. Gold mineralisation in the reserve at ICO will be reported to the cobalt concentrate, and will be recovered at the São Miguel Paulista refinery, in Brazil, subject to Jervois completing the acquisition and restart of the refinery in stages during 2022 and 2023.
Jervois said on Tuesday that early site works were well under way at ICO, with full construction scheduled for September. The project is expected to create some 200 construction jobs and 180 operational positions once the site transitions to commercial production.
“The board of Jervois is excited to announce this significant investment into Idaho. Idaho is an extremely supportive and attractive jurisdiction to invest, and leads the US with its stable legal and political system, tax and other regulations to facilitate investment and job creation, while simultaneously protecting the state’s pristine natural environment,” Jervois CEO Bryce Croker said in a statement.
“Jervois is excited to become a significant economic partner of both Idaho state and Lemhi County.”