Great Western acquires Ni-Co-magnesium project
2007-04-17 11:01 ET - News Release
Mr. Jim Engdahl reports
NICKEL-COBALT ADDED TO STRATEGIC METAL PORTFOLIO
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (CDNX:GWG.V OTC:GWMGF.PK) has acquired, through staking, a 100-per-cent interest in an advanced-stage, nickel-cobalt-magnesium project in the Western United States. Currently 150 claims cover three areas of known nickel-laterite mineralization.
The property was the subject of a phase I feasibility study completed by Davy McKee Corp., a well-known construction and consulting firm, in 1986. The study was based on 124 drill holes completed between 1964 and 1972 and 36 backhoe test pits dug and sampled in 1981.
The study, which is not National Instrument 43-101 compliant, and the results, provided here as historic information only was based on a 2,500-ton-per-day mining operation and concluded that the project was feasible generating a 20.6-per-cent return on investment with a five-year payback on an initial capital cost of $258-million (U.S.).
The study estimated an in situ tonnage of 27,168,290 tons of lateritic material from the three bodies, grading 1.0 per cent nickel, 0.13 per cent cobalt and 8.2 per cent magnesium. Pricing used for the study was $1.82 (U.S.) per pound nickel, $11.00 (U.S.) per pound cobalt and $1.50 (U.S.) per pound magnesium. The study reported that it was metallurgically and economically viable to recover all three metals and recommended proceeding to a phase II feasibility study, which would include a pilot plant and detailed engineering sufficient to produce a bankable document suitable for a production decision and financing purposes.
Geologically, the laterite is exposed at surface and ranges between five and 95 feet in depth (two to 30 metres). The material does not require blasting and can be mined by ripping, bulldozing, screening and crushing.
"This fits in well with our mine-to-market business model involving strategic metals in North America," says Jim Engdahl, president. "Many of the same technologies that use the rare earth elements, like we are developing at our Hoidas Lake project in Saskatchewan, also require nickel and cobalt. And any time you can acquire a potential resource with this much work already completed and documented, situated in North America, is potentially a tremendous asset." Adds Mr. Engdahl, "With nickel prices 10 times what they were when the Davy McKee study was done, and cobalt more than triple in value, we are anxious to bring the project up to speed in terms of current standards and see what the new economics look like."
Now called the Crescent project, the company has completed digitizing all the historic data in its possession to facilitate preparation of an initial National Instrument 43-101-compliant report on the project.
We seek Safe Harbor.
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