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Gold/Mining/Energy : Mining News of Note -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (32236)	2/4/2009 9:26:11 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 195975

Barra's Mt Thirsty could be one of top-5 cobalt mines, bankable study to start soon miningweekly.com By: Esmarie Swanepoel Published on 4th February 2009 JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Exploration and mining company Barra Resources on Wednesday stated that its 50%-owned Mount Thirsty cobalt/nickel project, in Western Australia, had to potential to become one of the top five cobalt producers globally. In its quarterly report for the period ended December 2008, the company stated the project had the potential to deliver 3 700 t of cobalt, 10 300 t of nickel, and 27 000 t of manganese a year, during the first three years of production. An independent prefeasibility study found that high cobalt throughput could be easily achieved early in the production schedule, owing to the majority of high-grade ore, sitting close to the surface within 8 m to 19 m. The project area had a current Joint Ore Reserves Committee inferred resource estimate of about 14,8-million tons, and an indicated resource of about 14,2-million tons. This equated to a potential 15-year life-of-mine at a throughput rate of two-million tons a year. Barra added that it was planning to initiate the bankable feasibility study shortly, pending funding arrangements. The study was expected to be complete within 12 to 18 months. A stimulus study determined a project development strategy that would built an atmospheric acid leach plant at Mount Thirsty, for about $400-million, to produce cobalt and nickel metal, as well as a manganese carbonate concentrate for shipping to third party refineries. Cash operating costs for the project was estimated at about A$100/t of ore, and after cobalt credits, the cash operating cost was in the lower quartile of about $2,49/lb of nickel. Barra stated that potential net cashflows, after capital payback but excluding capital depreciation, project loan interest, royalties, and income tax for the life of the project, was projected at around A$1,65-billion. While further prefeasibility modelling remained to be completed, it was expected that proceeds from Mount Thirsty’s nickel production would cover most, if not all, of the mine’s operating costs, leaving the cobalt and manganese production credits delivering an undiluted revenue stream.