Name of the Project
Falchani lithium project.

Location
The Macusani plateau, in the Puno district of south-eastern Peru.

Project Owner/s
Plateau Energy Metals.

Project Description
An independent preliminary economic assessment (PEA) has demonstrated the project’s ability to become a large, long-life producer of low-cost, high-quality low-impurity battery-grade lithium carbonate.

The Falchani project is highly amenable for development using conventional openpit truck-and-shovel methods.

The base case, which encompasses the entire mineral resource estimate for the Falchani and Ocacasa 4 concessions, envisages the production of 63 000 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate over 33 years, increasing to 85 000 t/y at a steady-state throughput of six-million tonnes a year.

The PEA includes the construction of a 1 700 t/d sulphur-burning acid plant on site to produce, on average, 1 500 t/d of sulphuric acid. In subsequent phases, additional modules are added to meet expanded processing capacity.

The PEA also represents an alternative case, which includes only the mineral resources from the Falchani concession.

The alternative case will use the same operating parameters, metal price and selling costs, and consists of an openpit mine and an associated processing facility, as well as on- and off-site infrastructure. In this scenario, the project is projected to have a 26-year mine life, with Phase 1 having a milling rate of 1.5-million tonnes a year and Phase 2 three-million tonnes a year.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
At a base case of $12 000/t lithium carbonate, the project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $2.71-billion and an internal rate of return of 24.2%, with a payback of 4.3 years (undiscounted).

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $587-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The construction period has been scoped for 24 months.

Latest Developments
Plateau Energy Metals has raised nearly $600-million to develop the Falchani project and expects to start mining in 2023, a year later than planned.

European mutual funds have provided $597-million to help develop the Falchani deposit. Plateau Energy will provide the rest of the total $844-million needed, Plateau subsidiary Macusani Yellowcake GM Ulises Solis has said.

The new money is "a good sign" that the project is advancing, with work on an environmental-impact study expected to start shortly and the company’s seeking official approval for construction permits in 2022, he has noted.

For the first three years, production of lithium carbonate from the project is expected to be about 25 000 t/y, gradually increasing to 80 000 t by the sixth year.

Solis has added that "a series of foreign companies" had approached the Canadian company about partnering in the development of Falchani, but that it did not plan to surrender control.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
DRA, working with ANSTO Minerals, with input from M.Plan International (process flowsheet)

Contact Details for Project Information
Plateau Energy Metals, tel +1416628 9600 or email Info@PlateauEnergyMetals.com.