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1/30/15, 2:49 PMForsys Metals Corp starts feasibility study for Namibia flagship
Page 1 of 9http://www.miningweekly.com/article/forsys-metals-corp-starts-feasibility-study-for-namibia-flagship-2014-07-07
ORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian projectdeveloper Forsys Metals on Monday said it had engagedengineering and project management firm Amec to start a
feasibility study for its 100% owned and permitted Norasa uraniumproject, located in Namibia.
The Toronto-based firm had also appointed SGS South Africa to complete
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1/30/15, 2:49 PMForsys Metals Corp starts feasibility study for Namibia flagship
Page 2 of 9http://www.miningweekly.com/article/forsys-metals-corp-starts-feasibility-study-for-namibia-flagship-2014-07-07
further metallurgical studies, which would include pilot plant testwork.
The Norasa project spans a 35 km strike to the Rössing uranium mine, whichhas been in production for over 30 years and is majority-owned by multinationaldiversified mining major Rio Tinto. The project is also 50 km north of the LangerHeinrich uranium mine, owned by ASX-listed Paladin Energy.
The Norasa project comprises the Valencia main and satellite pits andNamibplaas deposits, billed as potentially being one of the next biggesturanium-producing mines in the near future.
The feasibility study would also include the input of other specialist consultantsfor certain aspects of the study, including an update of the pit designs, tailingshandling systems and bulk water and power supply. Some technical aspectshave already been completed to a level suitable for the feasibility study,including the resource model and pit geotechnical designs.
"The start of the feasibility study is the next important milestone in thedevelopment of the Norasa project. The study will consolidate all accumulatedproject mine and technical data. We are very pleased to have assembled sucha competent technical team being lead by Amec. We are targeting quarter oneof 2015 for completion of the study,” Forsys CEO Marcel Hilmer said.
The feasibility study would also formulate an engineered construction andoperating plan regarding social, environmental and water management,additional permitting, geotechnical engineering, metallurgical testing, processdesign and mine planning.
Forsys had in 2008 completed an environmental-impact assessment, afterwhich it was granted an environmental clearance certificate by the Environmentand Tourism Ministry to cover all activities associated with the construction,operation and closure of the Valencia mine, the flagship deposit at Norasa. Thiswork would now be expanded and updated to accommodate the larger Norasaproject.
Forsys in March published an updated technical report for Norasa, whichunderpinned management’s decision to start the feasibility study.
The estimated measured and indicated resource for Norasa is 237-million tonsat a grade of 197 parts per million (ppm) triuranium octoxide (U3O8), for 103-million pounds of U3O8. The total proven and probable Norasa reservestotalled 177-million tonnes at a grade of 202 ppm, for 79-million pounds ofU3O8.
The Norasa project supports a 13-year mine life at the proposed productionrate, which is 2 305 t/y.
Construction of the Valencia mine is set to start in early 2015, while plantcommissioning is expected to be under way by mid-2016. Mining at Norasa willstart in early 2016 to prepare pit benches and open mining faces.