Modern Mining August 2015

NIOBIUM

Offtake discussions with traders and end- users are progressing well, says Cradle. The discussions are focused on optimising pricing and volume and both end-users and traders in the USA, Europe and Asia are being targeted. Two rigs were mobilised to site in June 2015 for drilling of geotechnical and hydrological holes. One rig was dedicated to drilling the 13 geotechnical diamond holes (typically <25 m deep) to enable characterisation of the ground beneath the proposed process plant and tailings facility; this work has now been completed. The other rig is focused on drilling hydrologi- cal observation holes in the area surrounding the proposed Tailings Storage Facility (TSF). Consultants from SLR Consulting (Africa) and SRK Consulting (Australasia) have been on site to supervise the logging and preparation of these samples. “The Feasibility Study is progressing as planned with a processing plant throughput of 1,3 Mt/a being selected for initial production expanding to 2,6 Mt/a after five years,” says Cradle’s MD, Grant Davey, commenting on the progress of the project. “Preliminary financial results calculated for a staged throughput sce- nario continue to highlight that Panda Hill is a world class mineral resource project. We are actively collecting all the necessary field infor- mation as well as preparing for the 75-tonne pilot plant test so that we have all the techni- cal information to complete the final Feasibility Study. The appointment of Dennis Cooke is instrumental in ensuring that the construction and operational team is appointed and have ownership of the Feasibility Study. Offtake negotiations are progressing well and all licens- ing approval applications have been submitted to the government for assessment. The Cradle team is focused on ensuring that Panda Hill is the next world class niobium producer.” Photos courtesy of Cradle Resources

is the current size of Magris Resources’ Niobec operation in Canada, thus allowing useful com- parative analysis. With the success achieved in the PFS in both mill feed grade and metallurgical recover- ies, the initial ferroniobium production from a 2 Mt/a plant now approximates to 8 to 10 % of world production. For this reason, and to sim- plify financing arrangements, the FS has been scoped so as to achieve a more modest entry into the market (i.e. throughput commencing at 1,3 Mt/a). The FS will allow for expansion of production as demand grows. The base case examined in the PFS estimated an initial capi- tal expenditure of US$158 million but a staged approach will reduce this figure to US$123 million. The FS is on track for completion in the fourth quarter of 2015 with key milestones including: the finalisation of the geotechnical drilling campaign for the plant foundations and tailings facility area completed in June 2015; the export of geotechnical samples to Johannesburg, with two of the three batches already at the laboratory and test work having started; and finalisation of the mineral resource model for use in pit optimisations. On the metallurgical side, mini pilot plant tests on approximately 5 tonnes of RC chips have been completed at SGS Lakefield in Canada with the preliminary results confirm- ing the robustness of the PFS flowsheet. SGS is now following up with larger-scale tests in a 75-t integrated pilot plant that was entering operation as this article was being prepared. The mining licence renewal documents have been submitted to the Tanzanian Ministry of Energy and Minerals and the ESIA docu- mentation has been submitted to the National Environmental Management Council. These authorisations are expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.

View of Panda Hill. It is located just 26 km from the major regional centre of Mbeya in south-western Tanzania.

The base case examined in the PFS estimated an initial capital expenditure of US$158 million but a staged approach will reduce this figure to US$123 million.

August 2015  MODERN MINING  31