Excellent source of information regarding the molybdenum market :
imoa.info
Be sure to check out the International Molybdenum Association website's Media Centre for blogs,
news updates, yearly reviews and videos on moly.
Current molybdenum prices are at 15 year highs :
1 Month contract @ US$32.25 / lb
2 through 15 month contracts posted at @ US$31.65
lme.com
.
Stuhini released an updated mineral resource estimate in early 2022 :
stuhini.com
Operating costs were estimated to be
- Mo price used for the resource pit was US$15/lb Mo.
- Estimated operating costs used in the MRE (in US$) were $2.00/tonne for mining,
$1.00/tonne for G&A, $5.00/tonne for processing and a roasting charge of $1.77/kilogram (“kg”)
of Mo. Metallurgical recoveries of 92% were utilized in the determination of cut-off grades for
the open-pit resource.
- The resource is reported at a cutoff of 0.02% Mo. Cut-off calculations were based on
metallurgical recoveries, operating costs for mining and processing, and metal prices
described above.
The average resource grade of .00053% is approximately 1.16 pound of moly per tonne.
.
For comparison:
Greenland Resources issued a Feasibility Study for their Malmbjerg moly desposit in
Greenland in February 2022 .
greenlandresources.ca
CAPEX estimates for the Malmbjerge moly deposit starts on page 37 of the above referenced
Feasibility Study.
Average moly price used US$18.00 / lb
Life of Mine operating costs estimated at US$12.42 / tonne
CAPEX for mill, tailings and processing facilities is estimated at US$820 million with additional
sustaining CAPEX costs of US$218 million .... for a total of $1.038 Billion
.
Assuming that the remoteness of the Malmbjerg moly deposit would be a little more expensive from
a CAPEX and operational viewpoints due to the shipping costs and lack of any infrastructure in the
area of the proposed operations.
On the other hand, Ruby Creek is road accessible, and an air strip is already located in the nearby
town of Atlin. Hook up to the power grid would require maybe 10 -15 km of power lines run from
the established electric supply.
At present moly prices and exchange rate, the in ground value of the pit constrained resource estimate
for the Ruby Creek moly deposit :
US$31.65 X $1.355 exchange rate X 477 million lb = C$20,456,502,750
Any moly price over US$25.00 / lb makes the Ruby Creek moly deposit exceptionally economic.
GLTA ! |
