Clean Air Metals Inc (TSX-V:AIR, OTCQB:CLRMF) announced the results of an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) that was completed on the Current and Escape deposits at the company's Thunder Bay North Platinum Group Element (PGE)-copper-nickel project near Thunder Bay, Ontario, which showed an after-tax net present value (NPV) of C$378.4 million, using a 5% discount rate, as well as an after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 29.8%.
The PEA also estimates the project will generate average annual revenue of C$239.8 million per year from the sale of PGE and copper mineral concentrates over a 10-year mine life.
“The initial PEA for the Thunder Bay North Project brings together two previously independent deposits into one mining plan which is relatively low risk, low capital, quick to production and generates robust financial metrics,” Clean Air Metals executive chairman Jim Gallagher said in a statement.
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“Given the significant potential upside with continued exploration drilling along the known conduits and with the already identified massive sulphide targets we believe that this PEA is a minimum base case that Clean Air Metals will continue to attempt to de-risk towards prefeasibility,” Gallagher added.
As well, Clean Air Metals said the PEA estimates initial capital expenditures (CAPEX) of C$367.2 million and ongoing CAPEX for the life of the project of C$169 million, with an estimated capital payback of 2.4 years from start of production.
The company noted that total mined metal production over the life of the mine, based on the present resource base, is expected to be 629,000 ounces of platinum, 618,000 ounces of palladium, 111 million pounds of copper, 57 million pounds of nickel, 38,000 ounces of gold, and 850,000 ounces of silver.
Clean Air Metals also announced that it expects to complete a mineral resource update in 2022 on the greater than 35,000 metres of step-out and delineation drilling that has been completed on the Escape deposit since the January 20, 2021 resource statement.
It added that it has not made a production decision at the Thunder Bay North project and there is no guarantee that a production decision will be made or that the production rates at the Thunder Bay North project will be achieved.
There are no mineral reserves for the Thunder Bay North project currently.
Clean Air Metals' flagship asset is its high-grade Thunder Bay North project, a platinum, palladium, copper, nickel project located near the city of Thunder Bay and the Lac des Iles mine owned by Impala Platinum.
Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com