Canada-headquartered First Bauxite Corp. has doubled the mine life at its refractory grade bauxite deposit in Guyana following an update to its feasibility study.
The study, prepared by Met-Chem Canada Inc. under the supervision of G Mining Services, now includes the Bonasika 6 and 7 deposits (formerly the Upper and Lower Waratilla-Cartwright claims) in addition to the Bonasika 1, 2 and 5 deposits.
First Bauxite revealed that the ore within Bonasika 7 was better quality and could be mined selectively, despite being buried under thicker overburden. The deposit’s low iron content, particularly desirable in refractory material, means magnetic separation is not required.
With the addition of two deposits, First Bauxite’s new study effectively doubles the Guyana resource’s mine life – the company’s production target is unchanged at 100,000 tpa sintered refractory bauxite (trademarked Guysin).
“The declaration of more than five times the tonnage and mine life identified in this study over the previous should send a strong message to both shareholders and customers that First Bauxite will be a major supplier of refractory bauxite well through the first half of this century,” said Hilbert Shields, CEO and company director.
Met-Chem estimates direct capital expenditure for the project to be $87.2m., a 5.2% increase from the 2010 feasibility study. In contrast, net present value has been revised up by 279% to $157.1m., while cash flow (before tax) is estimated 535% higher at $732.5m.
Production costs per tonne of sintered bauxite have increased 16% to $211.04/tonne. The IM Prices Database lists refractory bauxite (RASC) bulk, FOB Linden, Guyana at $460-510/tonne.
When operational, First Bauxite will be the only exporter of refractory grade bauxite not controlled by Chinese sources.