Name of the Project
Toliara mineral sands project.

Location
South-west Madagascar.

Project Owner/s
Base Toliara, a subsidiary of Base Resources.

Project Description
The outcomes of the definitive feasibility study on the Toliara project have closely aligned with the March 2019 feasibility study.

The project is based on the Ranobe deposit, which has total estimated ore reserves of 586-million tonnes at 6.5% heavy minerals and 3.9% slag ilmenite. Based on these reserves, Toliara is expected to deliver an average of 780 000 t/y of ilmenite, 53 000 t/y of zircon and a further 7 000 t/y of rutile over the initial 33-year mine life.

The project will be implemented in two stages.

Stage 1 will include the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) of heavy mining equipment; a dozer mining unit; a 1 750 t/h wet concentrator plant; a 150 t/h mineral separation plant; field services; a power generation facility; a borefield; a camp, offices, laboratories and workshops; a haul/access road and bridge; an export facility storage shed, a workshop and offices; and a jetty, multibuoy mooring facility and shiploader.

Stage 2, which will start four years after initial production, will include the EPCC of an identical second dozer mining unit, a second wet concentrator plant with a capacity of 825 t/h, additional heavy mining equipment, upgrading the power plant capacity by 30%, adding two boreholes to the borefield and adding one 18-room dormitory to the camp.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create an estimated 754 unskilled, semiskilled, skilled professional, supervisory, superintendent and managerial positions. This excludes the estimated 226 contractors.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $652-million and an internal rate of return of 21.4%, with a capital payback for stages 1 and 2 at 4.25 years.

Capital Expenditure
Stage 1 capital expenditure (capex) is estimated at $442-million for a 13-million-tonne-a-year processing operation. Stage 2 capex, estimated at $69-million, will increase capacity to 19-million tonnes a year.

Planned Start/End Date
Toliara is expected to take about 26 months to complete.

Latest Developments
Base Resources has said that it remains committed to the development of the Toliara project.

Base announced plans in 2020 to delay a final investment decision (FID) on the project, after the Madagascar government had suspended activities at the project area in 2019 as negotiations around the fiscal terms applicable to the proposed mine were initiated.

Base MD Tim Carstens has said that the timing for the conclusion of these negotiations were still unclear; however, the company is making “good headway” in its negotiations with the Madagascar government.

In the interim, Base is bringing forward an update to the definitive feasibility study for the Toliara project, which will be based on an expanded operation.

Carstens has noted that once the fiscal terms of the Toliara project have been secured, the company will take about 11 months to make an FID on the project, with a further 26-month construction period required before first production.

“So, on the assumption that the suspension is lifted by the end of January, we will undertake an FID by the end of 2022, which will mean we will be in production by mid-2025. That is the sort of timeframe, and we are still completely committed to the project – we just need to be patient,” Carstens has said.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Base Toliara, tel +261 020 24 261 85 or email reception@toliarasands.com.