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Kore Potash reports 'excellent start' to Kola definitive study

Published: 10:52 06 Oct 2017 BST

fertiliser
Potash is a key ingredient in fertiliser

Kore Potash Limited (ASX:K2P) remains on budget and schedule for delivery of a definitive feasibility study for its Kola project in the Republic of Congo.

The 14-month study has reached mid-way, Kore said, and is on track to be ready by the end of June.

READ: Kore Potash hits additional mineralisation at Congolese potash projects

Kola is a huge project with measured, indicated and inferred resources of over 5bn tonnes of potash and grades running as high as 60% KCl (potassium chloride).

Costs of building the mine are estimated at US$1.8bn, but Kore is confident that work currently underway can reduce this amount significantly.

In today’s update, the junior said it had identified opportunities to optimise earthworks, buildings, marine facilities, brine outflow and mine development while a number of fieldwork campaigns are also nearing completion.

As part of the development plans, Kore is shifting its domicile to the UK, with a meeting on the scheme of arrangement necessary for the move to be held on 27 October. An AIM listing is also planned.

Sean Bennett, chief executive, said the study progress was good.

READ: Kore Potash has a big project, big plans, and even bigger backers

“Pleasingly, at this stage, the DFS remains on budget and on track for completion in the June quarter 2018.

“Obviously, there continues to be significant challenges ahead, as one would expect with a project of this scale, and many areas that need further optimisation and design work but overall this has been an excellent start.”

A French consortium of blue chip engineers including Technip FMC, Vinci Construction, Egis International and Louis Dreyfus are carrying out the work.

The consortium will provide Kore with a fixed price and binding Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for Kola within three months of the completion of the DFS.

At the end of September, the DFS was 43% complete compared to a targeted 45%.

“The December 2017 quarter is a critical period for the company in terms of engineering deliverables, procurement activities and estimate development,” Kore added.

Elsewhere, tests on the material mined so far have been completed at the Saskatchewan Research Council laboratory in Canada and results are being incorporated into the process modelling and updated process flow diagrams, said the company. 

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