Name and Location
RHA tungsten project, Zimbabwe.

Client
Premier African Minerals holds 49% of RHA Tungsten, with the remaining 51% held by Zimbabwe’s National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund.

Project Description
The preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the project was completed in August 2013. The mine plan presented in the PEA consists of an openpit, followed by an underground operation, with a combined life-of-mine (LoM) of six years at a run-of-mine production rate of 192 000 t/y, or 16 000 t/m.

Premier Mining has since commissioned Bara Consulting to update the financial model for the project to demonstrate the effect of the additional work that has been completed since the publication of the PEA on the product valuation. The financial model outlines a low-capital implementation strategy.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Bara’s financial model reflects a pretax net present value of $15.8-million and an annualised internal rate of return of 286%, calculated on a quarterly basis.

Value
The project preproduction capital has been reduced from $4.77-million to $4.15-million.

Duration
Production is expected to start in June 2015.

Latest Developments
Construction of the RHA Tungsten project is progressing on schedule.

Processing plant manufacturer Appropriate Process Technologies will have completed on-site assembly and commissioning of the plant by June 3.

Further, mining at the flagship project continues to progress well, and visible mineralisation continues to confirm the geological model. “We expect to produce concentrate by the end of the first week of June. I look forward with great excitement to the transition from an exploration and development company to a producing mining company,” says CEO George Roach.

The complete process plant, except for the cone crusher, was delivered to site on schedule on May 22 and offloading was completed on May 24, while the earthworks and civil works programme was successfully fast-tracked to ensure that the site was ready for offloading of the plant. Only minor elements of the programme remain, including apron slabs and limited masonry work.

Infrastructure development, including power and water supply and reticulation, is also under way, with 90% of the piping and site buildings completed.

The mine’s generators were expected to arrive on site by end-May.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Bara Consulting (updated financial model).

On Budget and on Time?
The development of infrastructure is behind schedule, owing to orders being placed five days behind schedule.

“Current focus is on expediting these orders to pull the schedule back through early delivery,” Premier has noted.

First production from the mine is scheduled for June this year.

Contact Details for Project Information
Premier African Minerals, tel +27 100 201 281 or email info@premierafricanminerals.com.