RE: Rainbow chasing by LC again30 May 2026 09:08
They were processing tailings back then which was the southern part of the overall strategy which was abandoned when it became apparent that the infrastructure required (and promised by government) was unlikely to happen. That's why they ended up focusing on Roan as a base once power and water infrastructure were in place.
110 tonnes / day throughput equates to about 80,000 tonnes / month which is the nameplate capacity of the milling and flotation circuit WHEN PROCESSING TAILINGS. That's the important part to understand. Capacity is not a fixed number, it depends on what you are processing. Tailings are essentially a fine slurry which has already been through the crushing and grinding process, which means you can push more material through the plant. What they are processing now is unprocessed rock which needs crushing and grinding to the right particle size in order to be able to process it optimally. Obviously that reduces the throughput capacity which is why they have only been achieving 30,000 tonnes / month to date, hopefully soon to increase to 40,000 tonnes / month or more.
So why switch from tailings at 80,000 tonnes / month to RoM at 40,000 tonnes / month?
The tailings were producing mostly sulphide concentrates which sell for a lower price and also do nothing to increase production at Sable, meaning the fixed cost dilution doesn't happen. Also the tailings were lower grade so you have to push more through the plant.
The RoM is higher grade but also it is more than 80% oxides which means the majority of output will go to Sable, allowing fixed cost dilution to impact the margin.
If Leon had made all this clear at the outset then peoples expectations would have been more realistic. Most assumed (including me) that all of Roans output back then would go to Sable... that was never the case.