Scoping study confirms Romang Island Mn project as commercially attractive
Wednesday, May 28 2014 - 05:08 AM WIB
ASX-listed Robust Resources Limited said an updated scoping study has further confirmed the Romang Island manganese project in Maluku Province as commercially attractive with strong financial returns.
?The study concluded the Romang Mn Project, despite being small-scale and short production life (2 years), is commercially attractive with strong financial returns and no fatal flaws,? the company said in a statement, while unveiling the results of the scoping study carried out by independent consultant Equant Resources Pty Ltd and was based on the indicated mineral resources estimate published by the company on May 13-14, 2014.
Other key findings of the study are as follows:
| CAPITAL COST | US$8 ? 10 million |
| OPERATING COST | US$42 ? $50 per tonne of Mn product |
| PRODUCTION | 200,000 t/a Mn Product for 2 years |
| Mn PRICE (>42% Mn) | US$3.5 ? 4.5 / mtu (20% discount to market) |
| GROSS MARGIN | US$100 ? $140 / t Mn product US$20 ? $28 million per year |
| PAYBACK | < 6 months |
| GROSS REVENUE | US$40 ? $60 million |
| Summary of scoping study assumptions and outcomes | |
Key opportunities identified in the scoping study are:
?Importantly, the current inferred manganese resource will likely be increased and / or converted to indicated resource classification by ongoing exploration and evaluation studies, thereby may extend the mine-life for >2 years and increase commercial returns. Further, additional high- grade >40% manganese mineralization is likely to be discovered by ongoing exploration, while the commercial potential for beneficiation of low-grade 10-30% manganese mineralization warrants evaluation.?
The scoping study referred to in this report is based on low-level technical and economic assessments, and is insufficient to support estimation of ore reserves or to provide assurance of an economic development at this stage, or to provide certainty that the conclusions of the scoping study will be realized.
The key risks identified in the study are environmental risks due to metal contamination (both at site and in customer applications) and political risks associated with restrictions on Mn ore export by Indonesian government laws and regulations. A complete copy of the scoping study is available at the Robust website.
The revised scoping study results reaffirm the company?s decision to proceed with a Feasibility Study of the Romang Manganese Project, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2014, the statement said.
The estimated cost of the Feasibility Study is ~$1.2 million and will contain information including diamond drilling and mineral resource estimate to indicated or measured category; metallurgy and ore characterization tests; environment; mine, processing and production plan; logistics and transport infrastructure; marketing; government policies and community relations; commercial evaluation; and project execution plan.
Robust Managing Director, Gary Lewis said: ?The economics of the manganese project on Romang Island are very favorable and our focus is to advance with this project so we can generate an early cash flow to help fund future development. ?
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak