PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The feasibility study into the Panda Hill niobium project, in Tanzania, was on track for completion by the fourth quarter of this year, ASX-listed Cradle Resources reported on Tuesday.
The feasibility study considered a processing plant throughput of 1.3-million tonnes a year, expanding to 2.6-million tonnes a year after five years.
“Preliminary financial results calculated for a staged throughput scenario continue to highlight that Panda Hill is a world-class mineral resource project,” said Cradle MD Grant Davey.
“We are actively collecting all the necessary field information, as well as preparing for the 75 t pilot plant test so that we have all the technical information to complete the final feasibility study.”
Operations at the pilot test plant were scheduled to start by mid-July.
Preliminary estimations have placed the capital requirements of the project at $123-million, with a further $77-million to be spent on the expansion. The project was expected to have an after-tax net present value of $402-million and an internal rate of return of 32.4%.
Meanwhile, Davey said that offtake discussions with traders and end-users were progressing well, and were focused on optimising pricing and volume. Users in the US, Europe and Asia were being targeted.
All licence approvals had been submitted to the Tanzanian government for assessment.