Name of the Project
Fungoni mineral sands project.

Location
The project is located about 25 km from the Port of Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania.

Client
Jacana Minerals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Strandline Resources.

Project Description
A definitive feasibility study (DFS) has confirmed that the proposed project will deliver strong financial returns, has a high unit-value product suite and is capital efficient.

The project has a mine life of 6.2 years; however, there is potential to extend the life-of-mine (LoM) by further optimising the mine pits as product pricing improves, thus expanding the mineral resource that can be mined profitably.

The project has a mineral resource estimate of 22-million tonnes at 2.8% total heavy minerals (THMs), with 41% classified in the measured category and 59% in the indicated category. Initial ore reserves have been estimated at 12.3-million tonnes grading 3.9% THMs.

The project is based on mining two-million tonnes a year of ore producing 302 300 t of saleable mineral sands using multiple stages of beneficiation and mineral separation equipment on site to produce low-impurity, premium-quality industrial mineral products.

The high-grade orebody is exposed at surface, with the mineralisation showing strong geological continuity along strike and at depth. 

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create 100 direct job opportunities.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
An updated DFS has increased the project’s pretax net present value from $42.9-million, at a 10% discount rate, to $48.7-million, while the pretax internal rate of return has increased from 56% to 61%. Payback is estimated at 2.7 years from first production.

Value
The project is estimated at $35-million.

Duration
Following a decision to mine, the project schedule from the start of the project to completion is 52 weeks.

Latest Developments
Strandline Resources has signed a $26-million project finance facility agreement with financier Nedbank CIB for its Fungoni project.

The facility will account for the majority of Fungoni’s $35-million capital cost.

As part of the equity raising process, Strandline is in discussions with international finance institutions about strategic equity investments at either company or project levels.

With key mining and environmental licences in place, the DFS completed, offtake contracts secured for all the forecast product revenue, major construction contracts executed and the debt facility signed, Strandline is on track to develop Fungoni. This will, consequently, also pave the way for the development and value appreciation of its other mineral sands projects in Tanzania, including the large-scale Tajiri project.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
GR Engineering Services (process and nonprocess infrastructure design, DFS compilation, and the development of overall capital and operating cost estimates); IHC Robbins (geology and mineral resource estimation); AMC Consultants (mine study and ore reserve development); Knight Piésold (hydrology, hydrogeology, tailings storage facility design and geotechnics); TZ Minerals International (product marketing study and commodity price forecast); Allied Mineral Laboratories (bulk metallurgical testwork and analysis); Environmental Resource Consultants (land access compensation and resettlement planning) and Kiv Five Consultants (environmental-impact assessment and environmental management plan).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Strandline Resources, tel +61 8 9226 3130, fax +61 8 9485 2070 or email enquiries@strandline.com.au.