JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Minerals sands miner Diatreme Resources is awaiting final Ministerial consent for its Cyclone zircon project, in Western Australia, after the state’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended that the project be approved.
The EPA has advised the project, in Eucla basin, meets the requirements for consent, subject to certain terms and conditions.
Diatreme CEO Neil McIntyre commented in a statement this week that the expected award for final environmental approvals allowed the company to move confidently towards the completion of the remaining aspects of its definitive feasibility study.
“This is a historic step for our flagship project, representing the final hurdle in the derisking process, which has included securing an agreement with the traditional owners, the identification of suitable water supplies and the expansion of the projected mining life following the acquisition of the adjacent Cyclone Extended tenement area,” he added.
The acquisition of Cyclone Extended has increased the mine life to 14 years at a mining rate of 10-million tonnes a year.
An independent project enhancement and update study has recently confirmed the viability of the Cyclone zircon project, confirming a net present value of $121-million and an internal rate of return of 23%. The project has a payback period of under three years, based on an updated estimate of processing plant capital and operating costs, as well as shipping and diesel costs, with revenue streams adjusted for current product pricing.