Dart Mining's (ASX: DTM) managing director Lindsay Ward presented to over 145 investors at the recent "Stars in 2013 Series" Forum, with Ward discussing the company's Unicorn deposit in Victoria - which has the potential to be a long life Mo + Cu + Ag porphyry mine.
ACCESS THE FULL PRESENTATION HERE
Outcomes from a Scoping Study at Unicorn included; High recoveries, Mo 92% + Cu 96% + Ag 83%;
Two saleable concentrates, 51% Mo plus a 23% Cu/Ag; Strip Ratio ~0.2 : 1; Head grade, Measured 0.08% MoEq, Total resource 0.06% MoEq; Around A$304M to develop; Excellent infrastructure; and Cash cost A$3.58/lb2.
Ward answered questions from the floor.
Mr Phillips from Victoria, from the audience
Lindsay, with the Unicorn project in Victoria, if it was to be developed would the mining be both open pit and underground, and what would be Dart’s plans to rehabilitate the land following the end of mining.
Lindsay Ward, managing director of Dart Mining
Should Unicorn move into production it will initially be an open cut mine. It may then progress into an underground mine but further drilling, design and costing need to be completed before Dart Mining could make a definitive decision on future underground mining.
In terms of post closure rehabilitation this will be considered as part of the approval process but typically rehabilitation includes making the mine area safe and revegetation of the general area.
Mr Phillips
Also, if it is underground mining, how would Dart prevent damage / pollution to the water table.
Lindsay Ward, managing director of Dart Mining
Impacts on the water table by mining, whether it is open cut or underground will be the subject of detailed studies as part of the prefeasibility and feasibility studies.
The key takeaways from the project highlighted by Ward include:
- Very low strip ratio – innovative low risk mining methodology.
- High recoveries – separate (Mo & Cu/Ag) saleable concentrates.
- Power, water, roads, logistics in place – infrastructure cost savings.
- Strong community & government support – available workforce.
- No known native title, flora or fauna issues – simplified approvals.
- Lowest cost quartile producer – A$3.58/lb1 onsite cash costs.
- NPV $255M first 14 yrs (100% equity) – pretax IRR 27% / 2yr payback.
- Opportunity for life extension – +6 years2 adds $50 - $70M NPV.
Proactive Investors Australia is the market leader in producing news, articles and research reports on ASX “Small and Mid-cap” stocks with distribution in Australia, UK, North America and Hong Kong / China.