Name of the Project
Al Hadeetha copper/gold project.

Location
Oman.

Client
Al Hadeetha Resources, a 70:30 joint venture between Alara Oman Operation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alara Resources, and Al Hadeetha Investment Services, a privately owned Omani Company.

Project Description
The Al Hadeetha project incorporates three exploration licences in Oman located east and south-east of Alara’s Daris project.

The project is currently based around the Washihi copper/gold deposit.

A feasibility study completed on the project has estimated that the project could deliver 34 000 t/y of concentrate production and have a mine life of more than ten years.

The process plant is designed to process one-million tonnes of copper- and gold-bearing mineralised material a year.

It includes primary crushing, grinding, hydrocyclones, rougher flotation, regrind and cleaner flotation, concentrate thickener, filtration and load-out, as well as tailings slurry pumping to a tailings dam.

The primary crusher will operate at 269 t/h.

The process plant will operate at a throughput rate of 142 t/h.

The availability of grinding and flotation circuits, as well as concentrate thickening, tailings thickening and tailings filtering, will be 90%.

Equipment will include a 110 kW/h jaw crusher, a 2 250 kW/h semiautogenous mill, a 1 600 k/h ball mill, a 90 kW/h cone crusher, rougher scavenger flotation cells, a 400 kW/h regrind ball mill, cleaner flotation cells, a concentrate thickener, a filtration unit and a dryer. Heavy-duty slurry pumps will be used for pumping tailings to the tailings dam.

The plant will also feature a modern computer network system, network communications with real-time monitoring, a top-of-the-range assay laboratory, reagent storage and mixing, workshops, a plant office, a safety shower and laundry facility.

Jobs to be Created
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value of $37.8-million and an internal rate of return of 21%.

Value
Preproduction capital expenditure is estimated at $49.39-million.

Duration
The project is expected to take one year to complete and to start production as early as the third quarter of 2017.

Latest Developments
Alara Resources has signed an offtake agreement to supply an estimated 35 000 t of copper concentrate from its Al Hadeetha project.

Under the terms of the agreement, the concentrate will be shipped at regular intervals from the Sohar port, with the agreement including a prepayment of $6-million to assist in funding the construction of the project and mine start-up.

The agreement forms an important part in the financing and development of the Al Hadeetha mine and processing plant, and has been completed in discussion with bank representatives.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Alara Resources tel +61 8 9481 0389, +61 8 9463 6103 or email info@alararesources.com.