Name and Location
Crown Mountain coking coal project, British Columbia, Canada.

Client
Jameson Resources.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) completed on the Crown Mountain project has shown that the development will have outstanding economics and be technically robust.

The PFS has identified 55.8-million run-of-mine (RoM) tonnes as a coal reserve, of which 49.7-million tonnes are classified as proven and 6.1-million tonnes as probable. These reserves are underpinned by the project’s measured, indicated and inferred resources of 98.6-million tonnes, of which only the measured and indicated resources were used in the PFS.

The PFS envisages an openpit mining operation.

Mining equipment includes excavators, front-end loaders and haul trucks, supported by dozers, backhoes and blasthole drills.

The mine plan has been sequenced to extract the low strip ratio North block first, followed by the smaller East block, which is a subset of the South block, but a distinctly higher-quality and discrete mine pit, and finally the large South block.

Mined RoM coal will be hauled from the pit to a derocking device (rotary breaker or equivalent) where some of the larger size out-of-seam dilution will be removed.

The wash plant will be situated close to the mine site. The primary processing method will be heavy-media cyclone and reflux classifier, supplemented by column cell flotation for fines recovery. A thermal drier is included in plant design.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value of C$369-million pretax on base case, increasing up to C$410-million if leasing is selected. The project’s internal rate of return is 33% pretax and has an after-tax payback period of 2.7 years.

Value
The project has a startup capital cost of $339-million, including a 10% contingency.

Duration
First production is expected in late 2017.

Latest Developments
Jameson plans to move forward with Crown Mountain by fast-tracking the environmental assessment fieldwork required to compile a permit application.

The company also plans to perform a detailed evaluation with regard to developing alternate scenarios that build on the PFS and continue improve the financial result.

This will include a review of the Southern extension, which was excluded from the PFS. This extension may contribute to improved economics and a possible shift in the PFS mine sequencing and size of the operation.

Blending opportunities between pits will also be assessed to improve overall product sales realisations.

Further, opportunities to use contract mining will be explored with qualified parties and the potential for synergies with neighbouring operations/projects will be evaluated.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Norwest Corporation (PFS).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Jameson Resources, tel +61 8 9200 4473, fax +61 8 9200 4463 or email admin@jamesonresources.com.au.
Norwest Corporation, tel +1 604 602 8992, fax +1 604 602 8951 or email vancouver@norwestcorp.com.