LONDON (Alliance News) - Amur Minerals Corp said its reserve statement for the the nickel and copper sulphide deposits at the Kun-Manie deposit in Russia has been upgraded by a quarter, and there is the potential for a further increase after infill drilling of inferred resources.
In a statement, the minerals company said the proved and probable reserve has increased to 39.2 million ore tonnes containing 219,000 tonnes of nickel and 58,100 tonnes of copper, making the deposit one of the largest nickel sulphide projects in the world.
The updated reserve isn't yet JORC compliant. It needs to be signed off by a competent person as defined under the JORC code.
Amur said the company-derived earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the reserve is estimated to range from USD726 million at a nickel price of USD8.50 per pound, or USD18,740 a tonne. Using a long term nickel price of USD9.50 per pound, or USD20,950 a tonne, Ebitda is projected to be USD1,06 billion.
It added that substantial inferred resources were specifically excluded from the reserve estimate, portions of which could be converted to reserves by successful infill drilling.
"In light of the fact that there are presently 70 million tonnes of Inferred Resource not available for inclusion in our current Reserve assessment and that our historical infill drill success rate has been high, we anticipate an opportunity to take advantage of the economy of scale by increasing the annual production rate at Kun-Manie," Chief Executive Robin Young said in a statement.
"And this does not include the substantial potential to define more resources by simple step out drilling down dip and along strike where the limits of mineral are not yet identified, which we believe the future expansion of Resources and Reserves to be substantial," Young added.
Still Amur Minerals shares were down 6.9% at 3.25 pence Thursday morning.
The company is working on getting a production licence for Kun-Manie.
By Steve McGrath; stevemcgrath@alliancenews.com; @SteveMcGrath1
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Amur Minerals (AMC)