Melbourne, Oct 17, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The board of A-Cap Resources Limited (ASX:ACB) is pleased to release the results of the Scoping Study conducted by SRK Consulting over the previous 9 months.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Scoping Study supports robust project economics
- Project focuses on near surface calcrete and oxide portions of the resource
- Preferred project option contains 45Mdmt @180 ppm containing 18Mlbs U3O8
- Metallurgical recoveries between 78%-90% within the oxide and calcrete mineralisation
- Target production rates 7Mdmt for 2.2Mlbs of U3O8 per annum
- Total cash cost USD29/lb U3O8
- Capital Expenditure USD 169M plus 10M sustaining capital.
SCOPING STUDY DETAILS
A-Cap commissioned SRK in March 2008 to manage the Scoping Study for the Letlhakane Project Uranium deposit in North Eastern Botswana. Four principal development options were considered during the course of the study. For the purpose of this report A-Cap has elected to focus on option one which completed a Whittle Pit Optimisation using a long term price of USD 55/lb of U3O8 and a production rate of 20ktpd.
Aspects of the Letlhakane Uranium Project that were assessed in the SRK scoping Study Include
- Resource drilling and re-estimation
- Mine Optimisation based at USD 55 and USD 80 /lb U3O8
- Metallurgical projections
- Infrastructure assessment including; access, power water
- Capital and operating cost estimates
- Technical and economic modeling
The significant detail of the SRK reports follows.
Letlhakane Scoping Study results
Following on from the release of its latest JORC Inferred Mineral Resource estimate in July 2008, an independent scoping-level study has been completed to evaluate the potential economic returns of a commercial operation that is developed within the next two years. The indicative results from this study support continued funding of further technical and economic studies, and resource development, which will be required as part of a Feasibility Study and will likely be undertaken in 2009 with a view to producing U3O8 by mid to late 2010.
Acknowledging the confidence levels associated with resource estimates being classified as Inferred, the following results should only be considered as indicative and are subject to the assumed quantity and quality of the projected production being appropriately modified to reserves.
The company is confident that the majority of the current Inferred Resources will be upgraded to Indicated Resources following the completion of ongoing resource definition drilling and metallurgical testwork, as recommended in the associated Resource Report which supports the July 2008 estimate.
Four options were considered during the scoping study, the summary results below are from Option One, at a production rate of 20ktpd based on a pit optimisation using a long term price of USD55/lb U3O8.
INDICATIVE RESULTS: Not Based on Reserves
Technical Results: Total Inferred Resource : 280Mdmt@160 ppm containing 98Mlbs U3O8 Stripping ratio : 1.2 waste tonnes to ore tonnes Target RoM Production : 45Mdmt@180 ppmcontaining 18Mlbs U3O8 Target Production Rate : 7Mdmt per annum Target Average RoMGrade : 180ppm eU3O8 Target Contained U3O8 : 18Mlbs eU3O8 Assumed Production rate : 20kdmt per day Assumed Leach Recovery : 80% on average (includes leach, SX and IX recovery) U3O8 production : 2.2Mlbs per annumEconomic Results: Unit Direct Operating Costs : USD25/lb U3O8 Unit Indirect Operating Costs : USD2/lb U3O8 Unit Marketing & Logistics : USc8/lb U3O8 Government Royalty : USD2/lb U3O8 Total Cash Costs of Sales : USD29/lb U3O8FoBWalvis Bay Capital Expenditure : USD169 million Sustaining Capital : USD10 million
For the full announcement, please visit:
http://www.acap.com.au/ca2008.htm
About A-Cap Resources Limited
A-Cap holds six prospecting licences covering a total area of over 4,400km2 and three licences under application covering a further 3,000km2. All of the ground held by A-Cap has been previously explored by major companies such as Falconbridge, BCL, Urangesellchaft and Union. All of A-Cap’s tenements have significant radiometric anomalies and indications of Uranium mineralisation exposed at surface. Significant discoveries have been made at the Letlhakane Project resulting in an Inferred Resource of 30 Million lb Uranium (at an 80ppm cut-off) that has been defined in accordance with the JORC code.
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