Blue Sky Uranium Corp. (TSX-V:BSK, OTCQB:BKUCF) has unveiled a new preliminary economic assessment for the Ivana uranium-vanadium deposit that underscores its potential as a low-cost mining project.
The PEA for the deposit at its Amarillo Grande project in Argentina incorporates a fresh mineral resource estimate, with approximately 80% of the resources now categorized as Indicated.
The assessment outlines robust economics for a surficial mining operation, projecting 11 years of uranium and vanadium production.
Highlights from the PEA include an after-tax NPV (8%) of $227.7 million, an after-tax IRR of 38.9%, and a brief payback period of 1.9 years.
Initial capital costs for the project are estimated at $159.7 million, with additional sustaining capital costs throughout the life of the mine.
Assumptions underpinning the assessment include uranium and vanadium prices of $75/lb and $7.5/lb respectively, a two-year construction period and an 11-year production phase.
Furthermore, the PEA accounts for a strip ratio of 1.5:1 and anticipates an average annual uranium production of 1.5 million pounds (Mlbs) over the life of the mine.
Detailed processing studies are underway to mitigate risks and optimize project economics, with outcomes expected to inform a forthcoming prefeasibility study.
The mineral resource estimate indicates significant uranium and vanadium concentrations within the Ivana deposit. Indicated resources have notably increased due to additional drilling, enhancing project confidence.
The proposed mining operation entails surface mining with a relatively shallow pit depth and minimal drilling and blasting requirements due to the nature of the materials.
The processing plan involves two stages: a leach feed preparation plant followed by an alkaline leach circuit, with anticipated recoveries of 84.6% for uranium and 52.5% for vanadium.
Infrastructure plans include leveraging local resources and communities, with grid power accessible via a constructed powerline. Future studies will further evaluate water resources and refine operational details, Blue Sky noted.
Nikolaos Cacos, CEO of Blue Sky, expressed confidence in the project's potential, citing the resurgent uranium market and announcing plans to initiate a prefeasibility study for Ivana promptly.
"This PEA reaffirms that the Ivana deposit is a leading low-cost uranium-vanadium project,” Cacos said in a statement.
“We believe that this resurgent uranium market has a strong long-term outlook and we are therefore preparing to complete a prefeasibility study for Ivana as soon as possible.
"We will also continue our on-going exploration work to discover and delineate new uranium and vanadium resources throughout the remaining highly prospective district-scale Amarillo Grande project."