Name of the Project
Sconi cobalt/nickel/scandium project.

Location
North Queensland, Australia.

Client
Australian Mines.

Project Description
A bankable feasibility study (BFS) has shown Sconi to have robust project and financial metrics.

The project has a total combined ore reserve estimate of 33.89-million tonnes at 0.67% nickel, 0.10% cobalt and 42 parts per million scandium, supporting an initial life-of-mine of 18 years.

The cobalt, nickel and scandium resources are located in three main deposits – Greenvale, Lucknow and Kokomo – which can be extracted and processed on commercially attractive terms through the development of openpit mining operations and a central processing plant to be built at the site.

Ore will be fed into a two-million-tonne-a-year, latest-generation high-pressure acid leach and solvent extraction processing plant to produce 9 898 t/y of cobalt sulphate; 53 301 t/y of nickel sulphate and 89 t/y of scandium oxide.

The expected average feed grade of ore to the plant is 0.10% cobalt and 0.67% nickel, with exceptional recovery rates of 95.7% and 94.8% respectively.

Potential Job Creation
Construction of the project would create up to 500 jobs from 2019 to 2021, followed by more than 300 full-time positions once the mine, processing plant and associated infrastructure are in steady-state operation.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an estimated pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $1.31-billion and an internal rate of return of 21%, with a payback of 5.2 years.

Value
The project will cost about $974-million, including $110-million in contingency.

Duration
The project will take about 24 months to construct, with the processing plant expected to require a 27-month ramp-up schedule.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Ausenco (BFS).

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
Australian Mines, tel +61 8 9481 5811 or email info@australianmines.com.au.