Hinda Phosphate Project can repay $601m development cost
The Hinda deposit is one of the world's largest and thickest undeveloped phosphate JORC ore reserves. It has a low overburden to ore ratio and can be open pit mined, by free-digging, with no requirement for ripping or blasting.
The project is located in the coastal province of Kouilou and is favourably situated 37km from the port city of Pointe-Noire, the economic capital of Republic of Congo. Pointe-Noire is a major deep-water container port on the Atlantic coast of central Africa.
The DFS demonstrates that the Hinda Project is technically and commercially robust and has the capacity to repay its $601m development cost within 26 months of production generating an after-tax, ungeared 38% IRR and NPV10% of $1.85bn
Stable and safe
"Republic of Congo is a stable and safe place to work and invest, with a developed commercial sector, following the long-term success of the country's oil and gas industry. Pointe-Noire is a city I know well, with a population of over one million, and the economic capital of the country. It is one of the most attractive coastal city in Africa I have ever seen," Colin Ikin, chairman of Cominco Resources, says.
The project involves the development of an open cut mining operation including in-pit crushing of an average 20 million tons per year of ore. The ore will be delivered to a beneficiation plant that will upgrade the apatite to produce 4.1 million tons per year of saleable phosphate rock concentrate (Phosrock) grading 32% P2O5. A slurry pipeline will transport this product 42km to the export facility at Pointe Indienne immediately north of Pointe-Noire.
Facilities to be built
Product dewatering, drying, storage and ship loading facilities will be built at Pointe Indienne. The project includes all of the infrastructure required to support the development including power and gas transmission, accommodation and other buildings, access roads and mobile equipment.
"Supporting project infrastructure is a necessary part of the Hinda Phosphate Project but as well important for the community. This is a project that will create local jobs and a modern roads for the area," Ikin says.
The project costs are inclusive of all equipment and plant required to support the mining and processing activities.
