Hard Creek Nickel seeks partner for Turnagain mine
Mon Nov 3, 2008 3:27pm EST
reuters.com
TORONTO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Hard Creek Nickel (HNC.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is seeking a partner for its Turnagain nickel project in British Columbia, and has had talks with producers from China, Brazil and Britain, a company official said on Monday.
The Canadian junior miner hopes to have a partner in place by March, and will be looking for an initial cash infusion of about C$35 million ($30 million) to C$40 million to get Turnagain to the feasibility stage, which could happen within two years, Executive Vice-President Neil Froc told Reuters.
"We don't want to go out and raise (the money). We'd rather bring a partner in and give them a percentage of the project rather than dilute the shareholders," he said.
Froc said Hard Creek has been targeting potential partners with smelters who would be eager to lock up a long-term source.
"I think we're in good shape because we know the smelters are running out of sulphide feed," he said.
The company envisions a mine that would produce about 30,000 tonnes of nickel sulphide a year over 30 years.
In June, Hard Creek issued a resource estimate of 576.6 million tonnes of ore grading 0.219 percent nickel in the measured and indicated category and another 545.1 million tonnes at 0.204 percent nickel in the inferred category.
Froc estimated the mine could be economical at a price as low as $6 a pound, which means nickel MNI0 would have to recover from its current level of around $5.15 a pound for the economics to work out.
He said the company did not anticipate having to access debt or equity markets in the near future even if it has trouble finding a partner.
Hard Creek shares, which have been battered along with the rest of the junior mining sector, were up half a Canadian cent at 19.5 Canadian cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The stock is down nearly 80 percent this year.
($1=$1.18 Canadian) (Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Rob Wilson) |
