BCI Minerals Ltd. said June 1 that a pre-feasibility study on the Mardie salt project in Western Australia outlined a pretax net present value, discounted at 10%, of A$335 million, an internal rate of return of 20%, and a payback period of five years after the start of production.
Previously, a scoping study released in July 2017 estimated a pretax NPV, discounted at 10%, of between A$290 million and A$380 million, an internal rate of return of 25% to 27%, with payback of the investment in five years.
The study was based on a product price of US$30 per tonne of salt and US$500 per tonne of sulfate of potash, both on a freight on board basis, with planned production rates of 3.5 million tonnes per annum of salt and 75,000 tonnes per annum of sulfate of potash.
Total CapEx for the projected 30-year operation to reach full production is A$335 million, with A$248 million set aside for salt and an incremental CapEx of A$87 million for sulfate of potash. Operating expense on a freight on board basis is pegged at A$20 per tonne of salt and A$250 per tonne of sulfate of potash.
C1 cash cost is pegged at A$17.90 per tonne of salt and A$218.40 per tonne of sulfate of potash. Meanwhile, all-in sustaining cost on a freight on board basis is A$19.90 per tonne of salt and A$260.40 per tonne of sulfate of potash.
With the pre-feasibility study defining a base case for the project, the miner will now proceed towards the completion of a definitive feasibility study ahead of an investment decision for Mardie.
