Amur Minerals Corporation PLC (LON:AMC) said the independent review of costing at the Kun-Manie nickel project in Far East Russia is well advanced and not found any major flaws in the previous methodology.
Runge Asia Limited is independently compiling first principles mine site operating cost estimates for Kun-Manie to determine the open pit and underground mining potential for the four deposits planned for mining: Maly Kurumkon/Flangovy (MKF), Ikenskoe/Sobolevsky (IKEN), Vodorazdelny (VOD) and Kubuk (KUB).
The operating costs estimate is based on Russian costs and productivity factors, and includes depreciation, equipment replacement requirements and any additionally identified items.
Robin Young, Amur Minerals chief executive, said: “Runge's review and development of Russian based operating costs will provide critical information for the evaluation of the economic potential of Kun-Manie.
“The final costs will permit Amur to undertake the generation of an independent estimate of the mining potential for all four of our deposits.
''The mining potential evaluation will be involved and intricate in order to ensure that we establish an optimised mine plan and production schedule.
“At present, two mining methods, open pit and underground, have been identified at three of our four deposits.
“With each of the deposits differing in terms of metallurgical recoveries and operating cost, this will not be a rapid nor easy task.
''Having production derived from four deposits does present opportunity.
“We can consider the blending of ores and target extraction of the higher operating profit tonnages from multiple locations, not just one deposit.
“Multiple challenges also provide multiple opportunities to increase production of higher profit tonnages at earlier stages in the life of the project."