Kipawa Deposit
A Timely, High Value and Low Cost MineA HREE deposit containing the rare elements dysprosium, terbium and yttrium. A well-defined NI 43-101 compliant indicated and inferred resource. It is open along strike and at depth. Multiple showings on the property indicate an excellent exploration upside.
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| KIPAWA HREE PROJECT – FS FINANCIAL MODEL HIGHLIGHTS | |
| Net Present Value (NPV10%) (Pre-Tax) | $260 million |
| Internal Rate of Return (IRR) (Pre-Tax) | 21.6% |
| Revenue | $2.55 billion |
| EBITDA | $1.37 billion |
| CAPEX (initial) | $374 million |
| OPEX (annual) | $78.5 million |
| Payback Period (Pre-Tax) | 3.9 years |
| Life of Mine (LOM) | 15.2 years |
| Concentrate Production (annual avg.) | 3,653 tonnes |
The Company is committed to bringing the IRR above 25% by continuing to reduce the required CAPEX and OPEX, while optimizing the overall recovery rate.
Additional Upside Opportunities for the Kipawa Mine Project
Matamec has identified a number of opportunities that have the potential to add additional value to the project.
- The second metallurgical pilot plant testwork should be conducted in addition to the bench scale and first pilot plant testwork conducted up to now. This second pilot plant testwork will be important to confirm, prior to detailed engineering, final sizing of some process equipment. For the time being overcapacities have been built into the design, but it could be reduced during the detailed engineering, pending the pilot plant results. The second pilot plant will also help to confirm improvements in regards of recovery rates since conservative numbers were used for the FS.
- It would be significant to consider some testworks to separate individual Rare Earths (RE) to increase the value of the project.
- Depending on the RE market conditions, it will be important to continue the evaluation of other LREE concentrates and HREE concentrates production scenarios in order to optimize the IRR before detailed engineering.
- In the future and when the project is well in progress, testwork can be performed to evaluate the possibility to recovering zirconium and other minor metal by-products in the RE mineralized zones and in the syenite body.
- Mineral resources on the Kipawa deposit can be increased by verification of lateral and down dip extensions by drilling.
- From the last results in the FS it is known that there is the potential room for improvement in the open pit design when entering the detailed engineering phase.
