Norge Mining, having qualified to be fast tracked for critical mineral extraction by the government of Norway, has confirmed the viability of its most advanced mining project with the delivery of a pre-feasibility study.
The PFS is based on the first of the three zones at the Eigersund project, which represents the first stage of the Anglo-Norwgian firm’s planned mining operations.
The project sits within the Storeknuten licence area, covering only 5% of the company’s entire 520 sq. km. exploration area, with a mineral resource estimate of 3.4 billion tonnes in all categories to support at least 30 years of mining. The main Storeknuten area alone has nearly 1 billion indicated tonnes grading 1.73% P2O5, 4.83% TiO2, 0.07% V2O5 and 3.41% Fe3O4, a recently published JORC resource statement by SRK showed.
The PFS gives the one zone of the Eigersund project a net present value of $2.01 billion, but also states that this is expected to increase as the project progresses and optimizations are identified. Supply of critical raw minerals, — phosphate, titanium, vanadium and ferro magnetite — is set for the first 23 years of extraction with an expected yearly output of 20 million tonnes per annum to begin with.
The capital cost estimated in the PFS is $2.31 billion, which includes the capex associated with the open-pit mine, tailings, beneficiation and infrastructure developments. Opportunities to reduce the capital cost will be assessed as the project progresses, Norge said.
In June, the Norwegian government awarded the extraction rights for the Eigersund project, along with all of the company’s other exploration licences in the municipality. At 26 sq. km., this was the largest ever awarded area in the nation’s history.
Commenting on the PFS milestone, Norge Mining’s CEO John Vergopoulos stated: “The confirmation of Norge Mining’s business case is a significant step towards delivering a vertically integrated, European supply source of EU critical and strategic raw materials.
“This has been achieved without compromising our commitment to the highest standards of environmental and social sustainability which are guiding the development of our business.”
The company says it is committed to achieving the highest standards of sustainability at the Eigersund project and has established a research and development company for investigating alternative uses for the mine’s tailings. In addition to reducing the need for tailings deposits, such applications would further enhance the Eigersund project’s economics, according to Norge.
Following completion of the PFS, a bridging study is being conducted to assess project optimization and opportunities such as tailings utilization. Once this bridging study is complete, a definitive feasibility study (DFS) will commence.
At the same time as working on the PFS, the company and its consultants have also been progressing with potential downstream activities for the Eigersund project, particularly relating to the production of white phosphorus, phosphoric acid, titanium metal and vanadium. This work is progressing well and is expected to be concluded in parallel with the DFS, Norge said.
