The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) listed mining outfit, Discovery Metals Limited (DML), is bullish about Boseto Copper Project as all indications are that it will commence its open pit mine mid 2011.
In its recent quarterly report for the period April 1- 30 June 2010 released recently, the company said the Bankable Feasibility Study for Boseto open pit Project is currently being reviewed and results are expected this month.
“The Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) for the Boseto open pit Project is currently being reviewed by the Company’s Board, with results to be announced in August 2010,” the update said.
The BFS will be based only on bankable inputs like the processing rate 3Mtpa; open pit mining of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at Zeta and Plutus, fixed price EPC contract and all power by diesel generation.
The move follows on other achievements, including Boseto’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), which has already been approved by government.
The company has selected Sedgman Limited as an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor for the Boseto Copper Project construction.
The schedule for completing the BFS was adjusted in May to end of July to accommodate the decision taken by the company to expand the capacity of the Boseto copper concentrator by 50 percent to 3Mtpa.
Many of the BFS subsections, including mineral resource estimation, open pit design and production schedule optimisation, metallurgical test work, process engineering and plant design, associated infrastructure and the human resource management plan are already complete.
Financial solutions company–Blackswan Equities– said the final outstanding work currently being undertaken involves further optimisation of the mine plan, finalisation of operating and capital costs and financial evaluation.
The BFS is being produced for the purposes of obtaining bank debt finance and is, therefore, based solely on bankable inputs.
“The compilation is based on firm quotes from suppliers and expected productivities and consumption rates for the equipment included in the BFS,” said Blackswan Equities.
It added that key aspects of the planned project development are also subject to final review by external specialists.
“Completed work and reports on critical areas (resource geology and mine planning, ground water supply, metallurgy and process plant design, environmental compliance, cost estimating and engineering design) have already been forwarded to consultants performing the independent engineering reviews.”
“The process has been designed to ensure that the quality of information contained in the BFS is verified and externally reviewed.”
This provides improved confidence in the BFS outcomes and contributes towards a BFS that meets the requirements of all stakeholders, including existing and prospective investors, the Botswana Government and local authorities and equity and debt financiers.
The BFS executive team has been complemented with other highly experienced consultants in the fields of geology, mining equipment evaluation, and human resources strategy and project execution as required.
The Boseto open pit mine is expected to have a life span of 15 years from mid 2011 to 2026.
In an economy where power has become an industrial issue, the company said its preferred long term power solution for the Boseto Project is a purpose built coal fired power station.
Coal will be sourced from existing mines in eastern Botswana where coal resources are abundant.
