Home›Commodities›Mining›Avalon lifts contained rare earth resource at Nechalac…

Avalon lifts contained rare earth resource at Nechalacho by 42%

Avalon said Basal could produce 9,300 tonnes of total rare earth oxides annually over 20 years, and it plans a new economic study later this year.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Mining

Avalon Advanced Materials increased the contained rare earth resource at its Nechalacho project in Canada’s Northwest Territories, raising the global contained resource for the Basal zone by 42% as it prepares a new economic study.

The updated estimate includes 58.6 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 1.49% total rare earth oxides for 875,000 tonnes of contained TREO, with the company attributing most of the overall growth to inferred resources. Inferred resources more than doubled to 130.6 million tonnes at 1.31% TREO for 1.7 million contained tonnes, Avalon said.

Avalon also reported the Basal update uses a net metal return cut-off of $366.40 per tonne, 14% higher than the cut-off in its 2013 feasibility study, which it said could exclude lower-value material. The company plans to release a preliminary economic assessment in the fourth quarter and said the update was based on about 120,000 metres of drilling across 582 holes.

Based on the 2013 feasibility study, Basal could produce 9,300 tonnes of TREO annually over a 20-year mine life, with a post-tax net present value of $1.3 billion at an 8% discount rate and an after-tax internal rate of return of 20%. Avalon also noted capital costs of $1.6 billion could rise due to inflation, and it said the previous proven and probable reserve figures were not carried into the update.

More like this

Sources