Jangada Mines Regulatory News (JAN)

Jangada Mines plc / EPIC: JAN.L / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

31 October 2017

 Jangada Mines plc ('Jangada' or the 'Company')

Completion of Scoping Study

at the Pedra Branca Platinum Group Metals Project

Jangada Mines plc, a natural resources company developing South America's largest and most advanced platinum group metals ('PGM') project, is pleased to announce the results of the recently completed Scoping Study (the 'Study') for its Pedra Branca PGM project in north-eastern Brazil (the 'Project'). The Study has confirmed that the Project has the potential to become a robust shallow open pit operation, with a low capital expenditure requirement, yielding attractive financial returns and a very short payback period.

Overview:

· The Study concludes that the Project has the potential to produce an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 80% and a payback period of 1.3 years

· The Study indicates, low capital expenditure requirement of US$38.4m for the construction of the mining operation, processing plant and the associated infrastructure

· At a production rate of 1.1Mt per year, the operation will have a potential life-of-mine ('LOM') of 13 years at a very low 1.07 strip ratio producing 34,000 ounces of PGM+Au per annum

· A multi-commodity ore suite, mined at an average grade of 1.22 g/t PGM+Au with additional credits from nickel, copper, chrome and cobalt, yields a NPV of US$158.4m at a 10% discount rate

· A Mineral Inventory of 14.3Mt of run-of-mine ('ROM') ore has been scheduled to sustain a shallow, open pit mine with a conventional sulphide flotation plant producing a saleable multi-element concentrate

· Pedra Branca is already the largest and most advanced PGM project in South America and currently has a JORC compliant resource of approximately 1 million ounces of PGM+Au

Brian McMaster, Executive Chairman of Jangada said, "The results of the Scoping Study are excellent and clearly demonstrate the outstanding potential of this polymetallic project as a low cost, shallow pit PGM operation with excellent financial returns. The addition of the by-product credits for critical technology metals including cobalt, nickel and copper has a significant positive impact on the economics and underpins our belief that Pedra Branca has the potential to be a 'free platinum' operation, where by-product credits cover the costs of PGM production. We are also seeing significant value addition through the envisaged chrome concentrate production from the same ore zone.

"With these excellent results, we look forward to continuing to develop Pedra Branca as the pre-eminent PGM asset in South America, immediately advancing the project through the pre-feasibility study. We are also continuing to investigate further optimisation potential and value addition through our on-going metallurgical test work. Our management team on the ground is working hard to prepare the Project for final permitting as we continue toward our goal of trial production in early 2018.

"We have made excellent progress since listing in June 2017 and now expect to be entering a period of further positive news flow over the near-medium term, which we hope will assist in the re-rating of our Company."

Geology and Resource

The Pedra Branca Project is the largest and most advanced PGM project in South America and currently has a JORC (2012) compliant resource of approximately 1 million ounces of PGM+Au at a grade of 1.3 g/t, 109 Mlbs of Ni, 23 Mlbs of Cu, 6.4 Mlbs of Co and 670kt of Cr2O3. The Project is located approximately 280 km from the port city of Fortaleza in the northeast of Brazil and holds three mining licenses and 43 exploration licenses over an area of approximately 50,000 ha.

Previous operators have spent more than US$35 million on exploration and development activities, which include 30,000 meters of diamond core drilling, geophysical surveys and metallurgical tests.

Pit Optimisation and Design

The Study envisages a conventional, shallow, truck and shovel operation. Development of the optimal pits was based on the definition of an economic function, legal and proprietary restrictions and a determination of the nested optimal pits using Geovia Whittle 4.7.1 software.

The determination of the geometry of the optimal pits was executed through the generation of an optimal sequence of pushbacks. To determine the evolution of the pits over time, an annual production scale of 1.1Mtpa of Mill Feed was established, based on Taylor rule. The optimal pit for the LOM was selected at an Annual Discount Rate of 10% based on the stabilisation of NPV.

Figure 1: Example of a conventional truck and shovel open pit operation.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0209V_-2017-10-30.pdf

Mining Schedule and Fleet

The production scheduling was generated in GEOVIA Minesched™ 9.1.0 and the Mine Scheduling assumptions used were to minimize the Strip Ratio in the early years at a production rate of 1.1Mtpa based on Taylor rule.

The targets were sequenced in order to stabilize the grade as follows:

· Esbarro and Curiu:

· Esbarro and Cedro:

· Cedro and Trapia.

The main mine fleet consists of CAT 345 hydraulic excavators equipped with a 2.5 m3 bucket (or similar) and Scania G480 8x4 - 35 tonne capacity trucks (or similar). A fleet of ancillary equipment is also available for mine maintenance and eventual plant services.

Processing

GE21 used a basic conceptual circuit for the concentrate plant of Pedra Branca project with material flow as follows:

1. ROM material crushed in-pit, loaded and transported to processing plant.

2. Crushed material fed to conventional ball mills at 1.1Mt per year.

3. Mill product to be size-classified by cyclone producing required flotation feed.

4. Ore subjected to standard sulphide flotation through a rougher bank, a cleaner bank and scavengers.

5. Rougher tailings to spiral feed to produce chrome concentrate.

6. Sulphide concentrate filtering and thickening to produce final concentrate.

Figure 2: Conceptual flowsheet for the Pedra Branca PGM project

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0209V_1-2017-10-30.pdf

Economic Evaluation

The preliminary economic evaluation considered key input parameters in evaluating the Project's potential financial returns. Considerations included mine capital, plant capital and operational expenditure, metallurgical recoveries, commodity prices, taxes, product payability and general resource modifying factors.

The mine capital expenditure is related to a contractor mining operation with consideration for site preparation, including mine development, mine infrastructure (machine shops, roads, drainages, waste dump preparation, etc.) and was estimated at US$400,000 based on similar operations and the Mining Capital Cost Estimation Handbook (CAPCOST - CIM Especial Volume 47). The mining operational expenditure was estimated at US$4.18/t and was defined based on GE21's database in accordance with projects of similar scale and characteristics.

The plant capital expenditure was estimated at US$38 million as detailed in the table below. The Plant OPEX was estimated at US$10.5/t of ROM and it was defined based on GE21's database in accordance with projects of similar scale and characteristics.

A Discounted Cash Flow ('DCF') scenario was developed to assess the Project based on economic-financial parameters, on the results of the mine scheduling and on the sustaining CAPEX and OPEX estimate. The table above, entitled Economic Results, shows the main economic and financial parameters used in the DCF.

The Study was executed at the Scoping Study level as it did not define mineral reserves. It concluded from a Mineral Inventory of 14.3Mt of ROM which, at a potential production rate of 1.1Mtpa to be mined at an average strip-ratio of 1.07 and at an average grade of 1.22 ppm PGM+Au equivalent with associated Cobalt, Copper, Nickel and Chromium credits, can potentially return a NPV of US$179.8m at a discount rate of 8%, and US$158.4m at a discount rate of 10%.

FORWARD LOOKING AND CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS

Some statements in this report regarding estimates or future events are forward-looking statements. They include indications of, and guidance on, future earnings, cash flow, costs and financial performance. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements preceded by words such as "planned", "expected", "projected" "estimated" "may", "scheduled", "intends", "potential", "could" "nominal" "conceptual" and similar expressions. Forward looking statements, opinions and estimates included in this announcement are based on assumptions and contingencies which are subject to change without notice, as are statements about market and industry trends, which are based on interpretations of current market conditions. Forward looking statements are provided as a general guide only and should not be relied on as a guarantee of future performance. Forward looking statements may be affected by a range of variables that could cause actual results to differ from estimated results.

In this report, the term "mining inventory" is used to report that part of the Mineral Resource that has been considered in the Scoping Study. The mining inventory does not meet the requirements of an Ore Reserve as defined under the 2012 edition of the JORC Code and should not be considered an Ore Reserve. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mining inventory will be converted into Ore Reserves.

SCOPING STUDY PARAMETERS - CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

The Scoping Study referred to in this report is based on low-level technical and economic assessments, and is insufficient to support estimation of Ore Reserves or to provide assurance of an economic development case at this stage, or to provide certainty that the conclusions of the Scoping Study will be realized. Metallurgical recovery parameters are scoping-level estimates only and are based on historic metallurgical borehole and surface sample bench-scale test work and assumptions from geologically similar ore deposits.

Unless otherwise stated all cash flows are in US dollars, are undiscounted and are not subject to inflation/escalation factors and all years are calendar years. The Scoping Study financial analysis excludes the cost of pre-feasibility and bankable feasibility studies. 

The Company has concluded it has a reasonable basis for providing the forward-looking statements included in this announcement. The detailed reasons for that conclusion are outlined throughout this announcement and in particular in the disclaimer entitled "Forward Looking and Cautionary Statements".

COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENT

GE21 is a specialized, independent mineral consulting company that is headquartered in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The mineral resource estimate was developed by GE21 staff members, who are accredited by the Australian Institute of Geoscientists ('AIG') as "Competent Persons".

Mining Engineer Porfirio Cabaleiro Rodriguez acted as the chief supervisor for this report. He is a mining engineer with 39 years' experience in the field of mineral resource and reserve estimation. He has vast experience with various commodities, which include phosphate ore, iron ore, uranium, gold and nickel and rare earth elements, among others. Mr. Rodriguez is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists ('MAIG').

Geologist Bernardo de Cerqueira Viana provided Mr. Rodriguez with a peer review of this project was the principal competent person responsible for the development of the resource part in this report. Mr. Viana is a member of the MAIG and has more than 16 years' experience in mining projects, specifically in the areas of geological modelling, mineral resource estimation and the economic evaluation of projects.

Mr Rodriguez and Mr Viana have sufficient relevant experience to the style of mineralization to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code (2012). Mr Rodriguez and Mr Viana also meet the requirements of a qualified person under the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies.

This announcement contains inside information as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014.

* ENDS *

For further information, please visit www.jangadamines.com or contact:

Notes to the Editors

Jangada Mines plc is focused on developing the Pedra Branca PGM Project ('the Project'), one of the largest undeveloped PGM projects outside of Africa, with the potential to supply a market in long-term deficit. The Company is aiming to establish a low cost, low capex open pit mine, with a target to produce 30,000 oz/annum by the end of 2018 from three existing mining licences with mineralisation commencing at surface. The Project has a JORC (2012) Compliant Resource of approximately 1 million ounces of PGM+Au at a grade of 1.3 g/t, 109Mlbs of Ni, 23Mlbs of Cu, 6.4Mlbs of Co and 670kt of Cr. Circa 52% of this is contained within current mining licences and is considered a low development risk due to previous exploration work totalling + US$35 million. Additionally, the Company owns a further 44 exploration licences spanning 55,000 hectares, which have significant upside potential for PGM, nickel, copper, chrome, rhodium, gold, and vanadium. The team has a wealth of experience, not only of the Project but of mining in South America across a range of commodities.