PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Niobium hopeful Cradle Resources on Thursday reported that a scoping study for its Panda Hill project, in Tanzania, had indicated the potential for a highly economic project.
The scoping study indicated that with an initial capital investment of about $185-million, a two-million-tonne-a-year operation, with a life-of-mine of some 28 years, could be developed, producing around 4.8-million kilograms a year of niobium.
A staged development, which would increase the mill throughput from an initial one-million tonnes a year, to 2.3-million tonnes a year, would cost $125-million to develop, and could deliver between 2.6-million and 5.4-million kilograms a year.
“This scoping study exceeded management expectations and confirms the solid potential economics of the Panda Hill project. The next phase of the study will focus on reducing operating costs, optimising capital and de-risking and growing the niobium resource,” said Cradle MD Grant Davey.
The current Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of 81.8-million tonnes, grading 0.52% niobium, for 423 000 t of contained niobium, remained open at depth and the project area offered substantial potential to expand the current resource inventory, Davey added.
A prefeasibility study, which incorporates the preferred mining option and a testwork programme, would start in the second quarter of the year, and would likely take around seven months to complete.