Shares in Base Resources PLC (LON:BSE) (ASX:BSE) opened 8% higher after it released an ore reserve for the area that will form the “foundation” of its Toliara Project in Madagascar.
Ranobe is estimated to be host to 586mln tonnes (Mt) of ore grading 6.5% heavy mineral, or 38Mt in situ. Included in the count were ilmenite, rutile, leucoxene and zircon.
A total of 347Mt of ore was in the higher confidence 'proved' category.
Underlining Base’s geological thesis, the ore reserves estimate was consistent with the mineral resources assumptions underpinning the firm’s pre-feasibility study. The resource estimate for Ranobe was 1,293Mt at 5.1% heavy mineral, enough for a 40-year mine life.
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Samples from a 26,141m drilling programme are being processed with the aim of upgrading the Ranobe resource and reserve estimates.
A definitive feasibility study, nailing down the economics of Toliara, is set for completion by the end of the year.
A pre-feasibility study published in March confirmed its credentials as a world-class heavy metals play.
Its net present value (measured at a 10% discount rate) was put at US$671mln, while the investment required to build a 13Mt a year operation was calculated to be US$439mln.
At 8.20am, the shares were changing hands for 12.7p, up 0.95p.
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