Cradle Resources pleased with Panda study

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Cradle Resources (ASX: CXX) has received the results from a recently-completed Scoping Study on the company’s Panda Hill niobium project, located in south western Tanzania.

According to Cradle the Scoping Study results have indicated potential for a highly economic project generating substantial cash flow at current niobium prices for a relatively low capital outlay, subject to completion of a formal feasibility study.

“This scoping study exceeded management expectations and confirms the solid potential economics of the Panda Hill project,” Cradle Resources managing director Grant Davey said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The next phase of the study will focus on reducing operating costs, optimising capital and de-risking and growing the niobium resource.

“As the study progresses I gain confidence that Panda Hill will be the first highly profitable world class niobium mine in Africa.”

The study was based on a JORC Code (2012) compliant Mineral Resource estimate of 81.8 million tonnes at 0.52 per cent niobium for 423,000 tonnes of contained niobium with 76.4 million tonnes at 0.51 per cent niobium of Inferred material and 5.4 million tonnes at 0.62 per cent niobium of Indicated material.

The final conceptual optimised pit consists of approximately nine per cent Indicated Resource and 91 per cent Inferred Resource.

When adjusted to facilitate the three year payback period considered in the base case study approximately 55 per cent of the material is Indicated and 45 per cent of the material is Inferred.

The base case considered a 2 million tonnes per annum operation based on a mine schedule that prioritised the Indicated Resource for plant feed.

A staged case starting with 1 million tonnes per annum and ramping up to 2.3 million tonnes per annum after the first three years of production was also investigated.

 

Summary Financial KPIs (100% Project Basis). Source: Company announcement

 

The current Resource is open at depth, which Cradle considers to offer potential to expand the current Mineral Resource inventory.

The company said its next phase of site work will continue with the exploration program, while carrying out an infill drilling program for the area currently contained within the conceptual pit shell limits.

Cradle will also carry out sdditional technical studies in the next work phase focusing on the selection of a preferred mining option and the optimisation of the flotation process through a testwork program and targeted studies including mining and infrastructure requirements.

The Pre-feasibility Study, which incorporates the activities described above, is planned to start in Q2 2014 and is estimated to take approximately seven months to complete.

Email: admin@cradleresources.com.au

Website: www.cradleresources.com.au