Houston-based Itafos Inc. announced on June 28 that it has filed the National Instrument Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects 43-101 technical report for the Farim Phosphate Project, a high-grade phosphate mine project located in the northern part of central Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.
The technical report, entitled “Farim Phosphate Project – NI 43-101 Technical Report and Feasibility Study,” was prepared for Itafos by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc., and summarizes the results of an updated Feasibility Study for the project and all work conducted between 2015-2022.
Itafos CEO David Delaney in May (GM May 19, p. 27) said the updated feasibility study confirms that the project “has robust economics and demonstrates that the Farim Project has the potential to be an important phosphate producing asset.” Highlights of the study included:
- After-tax net present value (NPV) (10%) of $572 million at a base case life-of-mine (LOM) average rock price of US$197.5 per mt concentrate.
- After-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 34.9% and after-tax payback on pre-production capital expenditures of 4.2 years.
- Estimated pre-production capital expenditures of $308 million.
- LOM production of approximately 2.19 million mt/y of run-of-mine (ROM) phosphate matrix on an as-received basis (at approximately 20% moisture) or 1.75 mt/y ROM phosphate matrix on a dry basis. The assessment of mineable phosphate matrix reserves was based on a 25-year mine plan with an open pit design.
- Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves are 43.8 million mt at 30.0% P2O5.
The release of the study and the filing of the technical report come as Itafos is weighing its strategic alternatives (GM March 17, p. 1).