Zanaga Iron Ore Company (LON:ZIOC) said it was pleased with the progress made on various workstreams at its project in the Republic of Congo as it released annual results for the year to end 2020.
Clifford Elphick, chairman, added: “The conclusion of a Concept Study into a Floating Port facility for the Zanaga Project presented a potential solution to a logistics challenge which now provides significant flexibility on coastal route selection.
“In addition, the Concept Study indicates that there is potential to achieve significantly improved economics through the reduction of upfront capital costs relating to the transportation of Zanaga iron ore product at the coast, leading to an enhanced Internal Rate of Return.
“It is also pleasing to have concluded an updated costing exercise, using independent technical experts to evaluate the Stage One development costs. This resulted in confirmation that the Project's 2014 cost estimates remain reliable in today's market environment.
“Furthermore, an update exercise was undertaken to evaluate the Ore Reserve for the Project. This has resulted in the reconfirmation of the Ore Reserve - which remains one of the largest ore reserves globally."
Going forward, Elphick said; “Due to buoyant iron ore prices and continued strength in demand from China, the need for investment into tier one iron ore assets is compelling and the Zanaga Project provides such an opportunity.”
Zanaga has a 2.1bn ore reserve, with a staged development planned that will see a 30Mtpa operation in the first phase.
Losses in the year were US$1.8mln (US$1,89mln) with a cash balance of US$0.7mln as of 31 May 2021.