Name of the Project
Century zinc mine life extension project.

Location
Queensland, Australia.

Project Owner/s
New Century Resources.

Project Description
An expansion study at the Century zinc mine has highlighted the potential for a mine life extension until mid-2026.

The mine is undertaking a tailings operation that started in August 2018, and is ramping up to its initial Phase 1 design capacity of eight-million tonnes a year. The expansion study considers three scenarios.

Base case – tailings only: This case was developed as part of the 2017 restart feasibility study, initially involving a ramp-up to 15-million tonnes a year of tailings only, with the installation of additional flotation cells and regrind mills. This has been revised to a 12-million-tonne-a-year tailings throughput using only the existing plant.

Case 1 – combination tailings and in situ operation: This involves the openpit mining of two-million tonnes a year, which is a combination of the indicated resources of the South block and East fault block deposits, and processing this run-of-mine concurrently with ten-million tonnes a year of tailings.

Case 2 – combination tailings and in situ: The second option is similar to Case 1, however, with a different in situ blend – 400 000 t/y of Silver King ore through underground mining and 1.6-million tonnes a year of South block/East fault block ore concurrently with ten-million tonnes a year of tailings.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The base case has a net present value (NPV), at an 8% discount rate, of A$879-million.

Case 1 has an NPV of A$1.02-billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 46% (incremental on 12-million tonnes a year of tailings).

Case 2 has an NPV of A$1.15-billion and an IRR of 80% (incremental on 12-million tonnes a year of tailings).

Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure for the base case is estimated at A$40-million.

Case 1 is estimated at A$95-million and Case 2 at A$137-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Under the current schedule, New Century is planning to start its first concentrate production from in situ mining by the second half of the 2021 financial year.

Latest Developments
New Century Resources has declared commercial production at its Century zinc mine.

“Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, operations at Century continue to ramp up and have again delivered record production in the June quarter. Century has now achieved seven consecutive quarters of increasing production and lowering costs, and the company remains focused on continuing this trend,” said MD Patrick Walta on Monday.

In the June quarter, the Century mine delivered a 22% increase in zinc metal production, reaching 34 500 t, with C1 costs decreasing by about 17% to  $0.79/lb of a payable metal.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
New Century Resources, tel +61 3 9070 3300 or email info@newcenturyresources.com.