Name of the Project
Thackaringa cobalt project.

Location
Western New South Wales, in Australia.

Client
Broken Hill Prospecting Limited (BPL) and Cobalt Blue Holdings.

Under the terms of the four-stage farm-in joint venture (JV) agreement, Cobalt Blue’s beneficial interest in the project will be increased in tranches on completion of certain exploration and development milestones. When Cobalt Blue has completed its farm-in obligations, it will become the registered holder of the project tenements. BPL remains the registered holder of the project tenements until the farm-in is complete. Further to the farm-in agreement, BPL also owns a net smelter royalty (2% cobalt) for the project.

Project Description
Thackaringa has proven and probable reserves of 46.3-million tonnes grading 819 parts per million of cobalt. Using the mining ore reserve, an initial mine life of 9.3 years has been delineated for the project. The mine is expected to produce about 3 657 t/y of metal in sulphate. Total life-of-mine production is estimated at 32 453 t/y of cobalt metal in sulphate.

A prefeasibility study (PFS) has proposed the development of the site through the exploitation of the Pyrite Hill, Big Hill and Railway cobaltiferous pyrite deposits using four opencut mining pits, a plant treating ore and producing cobalt sulphate heptahydrate crystals and associated by-products, a tailings storage facility (TSF) and supplementary infrastructure as required. The project will use openpit mining methods, adopting a conventional truck/excavator operation. The load-and-haul and drill-and-blast operations are proposed to be run by contractors.

The processing plant will have a capacity of 5.25-million tonnes a year, following commissioning. The proposed TSF is required to provide future capacity for the storage of filtered and compacted tailings from the extracted minerals of the pits on site. The project involves mining and processing with a production rate generating an estimated 4.8-million tonnes a year of tailings.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of A$792-million and an internal rate of return of 27%, with a payback of four years.

Value
Capital expenditure is estimated at A$550-million.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Results to date continue to justify proceeding towards commercial development of the Thackaringa project. The release of the PFS allows for project financing negotiations and a bankable feasibility study to begin. Cobalt Blue believes it has fulfilled the requirements of Stage 2 as defined in the Thackaringa JV Agreement. As such, Cobalt Blue has served notice of this fulfilment to BPL.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Cobalt Blue Holdings, tel +61 2 9966 5629 or email info@cobaltblueholdings.com.