VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA today announced that AMEC Americas
Limited (AMEC) has completed a positive Preliminary Assessment (the
"Study") of the Company's 100% owned Turnagain Nickel Project,
located near Dease Lake in British Columbia, Canada. The Study
dated December 10, 2007 and entitled "Updated Preliminary
Assessment of the Turnagain Nickel Project", will be filed on SEDAR
within 45 days and available at the same time for viewing on the
company's website www.hardcreek.com.
The Study is based on a measured, indicated and inferred mineral
resource estimate completed by AMEC. This estimate incorporates a
revised and expanded geological interpretation of the Horsetrail
zone and peripheral area which includes 19 drill holes from the
2007 drilling program. Timing of the Study did not allow the
resource estimate to include an additional 32 infill and stepout
holes for a total of 11,933 metres (39,150 feet) drilled in 2007.
Samples from these drill holes have been prepared and are in the
process of being analyzed.
The Study initially considered nickel recovery by both the
production of a saleable concentrate and a hydrometallurgical
process. Completion of the study was based on the
hydrometallurgical process option given its better economic
viability. Results presented below are for the open pit mining and
hydrometallurgical process scenario.
Key parameters and results:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Base Case Nickel Price US $ 7.50/lb
Assumptions -------------------------------------------------------------
Cobalt Price US $11.00/lb
-------------------------------------------------------------
Copper Price US $ 1.40/lb
-------------------------------------------------------------
Exchange Rate (US$/CDN$) 0.95
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources at Measured and 489 million tonnes @
0.10% NiS Indicated 0.163 % NiS and 0.012 % Co
Cut-Off -------------------------------------------------------------
Inferred 560 million tonnes @
0.152 % NiS and 0.011 % Co
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mining & Strip Ratio 0.44:1
Production -------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Throughput 18 million tonnes
-------------------------------------------------------------
Daily Production Rate 50,000 tonnes
-------------------------------------------------------------
Overall Ore Milled 516.6 million tonnes @
0.160 % NiS and 0.011% Co
-------------------------------------------------------------
Metallurgical 73.6% Ni Overall Recovery
Recoveries ------------------------------------
66.5% Co Overall Recovery
-------------------------------------------------------------
Average Annual 20,397 tonnes Ni in nickel hydroxide
Production ------------------------------------
1,301 tonnes Co in cobalt hydroxide
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Cost CDN$ 1.38 billion
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Cost CDN$ 9.43 per tonne milled
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life of Mine 29 years
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Payback 6.4 years
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Rate
of Return 12.2 %
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Present 8 % discount CDN$ 422 million
Value -------------------------------------------------------------
10 % discount CDN$ 187 million
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: "% NiS" refers to nickel percent that is present in sulfides.
"Management is pleased with the results of the Study," said Mark
Jarvis, President of Hard Creek Nickel. "Given recent escalating
mine capital cost projections we are encouraged to find out that
even with these increases the preliminary assessment came out
positive with a mine life of 29 years. AMEC's assessment indicates
that the deposit is potentially mineable and has identified that
further work is justified. Hard Creek will be undertaking
additional work in all major areas to advance the project to the
pre-feasibility level. Confirmation and availability of the
required power for the project has also been identified by AMEC as
critical. Hard Creek is aggressively pursuing all possible options
for providing sufficient power to make the project feasible."
Hard Creek is waiting for analytical results from most of the 32
infill and stepout holes around the Turnagain deposit from the 2007
drilling program which were not included in the mineral resource
estimate stated in the Study. These results are expected to
increase the overall resource and upgrade the confidence level of a
portion of the current inferred mineral resource. Analytical
results from our drilling program will be released as they become
available. An updated mineral resource estimate will be provided
once all of the results have been received.
Recent drilling results obtained since the closing date of the
Study have already indicated the potential to include platinum and
palladium as a portion of our overall Turnagain deposit resource
(see news release dated November 28, 2007). These results were
obtained within the limits of the ultimate pit identified in the
Study. As previously stated, the potential to include platinum and
palladium as a portion of our overall resource could be
significant. Close spaced drilling will be required during the next
drill season to determine the significance and extent of this
mineralization.
Turnagain Nickel Project Overview
The Turnagain Nickel project, which is 100% wholly-owned by Hard
Creek, is located in British Columbia about 1350 km (835 miles)
northwest of Vancouver and 70 km (44 miles) east of Dease Lake. The
property consists of 81 contiguous mineral claims covering an area
of approximately 29,370 ha (72,570 acres). Nickel and copper
sulfides were first identified on the property in about 1956 with
Falconbridge Nickel Mines completing the first exploration programs
during the period from 1966 to 1973. Exploration to date on the
Turnagain property has included geological mapping, geophysical and
geochemical surveys and more than 75,620 metres (248,100 feet) of
diamond drilling in 304 drill holes. The total includes an
additional 56 drill holes (32 infill and stepout holes from the
Turnagain deposit and 24 exploration holes) which were completed
since the closing date of the Study.
Mineral Resources
The updated mineral resource estimate for the Turnagain deposit
was performed by Dr. Guillermo Pareja of AMEC under the guidance of
Mr. Greg Kulla, P.Geo. of AMEC. A significant improvement between
this estimate and previous estimates is the use of geologic domains
in the model. Previous models, which used grade shells and did not
have the benefit of a lithologic model, showed conditional bias and
local excessive smoothing.
The table below presents the estimate of the resource of the
Turnagain Nickel deposit using a 0.10% NiS cut-off, as at September
25, 2007, of 489 million tonnes of Measured and Indicated Resources
at 0.163% NiS and an additional 560 million tonnes of inferred
Resources at 0.152% NiS. A total of 42,128 metres (138,215 feet) of
diamond drilling in 158 drill holes were used in interpolating
grade in the resource area.
The mineral resources of the Turnagain deposit were classified
in accordance with CIM Definition Standards and Best Practices
referred to in NI 43-101 which have a reasonable expectation of
economic extraction. The mineralization of the Project satisfies
criteria to be classified into Measured, Indicated and Inferred
mineral resource categories.
Mineral Resource Estimate Table
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Cut-off Grade Tonnage % NiS % total Ni % Co
at 0.10% NiS (thousands)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Measured 59,464 0.184 0.250 0.011
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Indicated 429,688 0.160 0.218 0.012
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Measured + Indicated 489,152 0.163 0.222 0.012
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Inferred 560,052 0.152 0.204 0.011
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The sulfide nickel and cobalt grades are based on an analytical
procedure employed by Acme Laboratories that consists of a
concentrated hydrogen peroxide plus ammonium acetate leaching
solution that is believed to be selective at dissolving nickel and
cobalt from sulfide mineral species while leaving the nickel and
cobalt in silicates undissolved. As a precautionary step all the
sulfide nickel grades were assigned a value of zero if the
corresponding sulphur assay was less than 0.2% S. Sulphur assays
were based on Leco furnace method except for results obtained in
2006 which were ICP analysis. This precaution may cause an
underestimation of the nickel resource and could be large enough to
be a material impact. However, this approach limits the possibility
that an overestimation of the nickel resource has occurred.
Mining and Processing
The mining assessment for the Turnagain nickel deposit is based
on typical industry standards for a preliminary assessment study
with regard to the nature and mineability of the resource. The
Study initially considered nickel recovery by both the production
of a saleable concentrate and a hydrometallurgical process.
Completion of the Study was based on the hydrometallurgical process
option given its' better economic viability.
The proposed mining operation is a conventional shovel and truck
open pit mine feeding a 50,000 tonne per day process plant using
standard mineral flotation technology. Throughput analysis was not
performed as part of the Study. Mining and processing of the
deposit will be initiated in a "starter pit" which has been
scheduled to maximize the production of high-grade material during
the first five years, to shorten the capital payback period. Lower
grade material from the starter pit will be stockpiled and fed to
the mill in the later years of operation. The pit will expand in
phased pushbacks until the ultimate pit limits are reached. The
table below shows the contained tonnes and grade in the ultimate
pit shell. About 67% of the mineral resource contained in the
ultimate pit is in the Measured or Indicated category.
Ultimate Pit Tonnes and Grade Table
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Cut-off Grade Tonnage % NiS % total Ni % Co
at 0.10% NiS (thousands)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Measured 56,611 0.187 0.252 0.012
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Indicated 290,871 0.164 0.222 0.010
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Measured + Indicated 347,482 0.167 0.227 0.010
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Inferred 169,941 0.145 0.199 0.010
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Material for processing will be hauled to a primary crusher
located near the southwest rim of the Main Pit. The mine at the
50,000 tonne per day throughput has a potential life of 29 years
with approximately 516.6 million tonnes at 0.160% NiS and 0.010% Co
to the mill at an average stripping ratio of 0.44:1. The
construction schedule is estimated at 24 months.
Feed to the mill will be processed using a concentrator and
hydrometallurgical process facility on-site to produce separate
nickel and cobalt hydroxide products that will be trucked and
shipped out of the province through the Port of Stewart, for sale
to ferronickel producers. In addition, a separate copper
concentrate will be produced which can be sold to a copper smelter.
Processing will be based on a conventional nickel sulfide flotation
flowsheet to produce a sulfide concentrate followed by a
hydrometallurgical process to convert nickel and cobalt from its
sulfide forms to a hydroxide form.
The overall metallurgical recoveries of metals have been
estimated as follows:
Overall Metallurgical Recoveries (%)
-------------------------------------------------
Metal Concentrator Hydromet Cumulative
-------------------------------------------------
Nickel 77.5 95 73.6
-------------------------------------------------
Cobalt 70 95 66.5
-------------------------------------------------
Copper 50 95 47.5
-------------------------------------------------
Metal in Saleable Product
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Annual Life of Mine
Metal Production Production
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Nickel (in hydroxide) 20,397 tonnes 591,525 tonnes
(44.9 million lbs) (1.304 billion lbs)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Cobalt (in hydroxide) 1,301 tonnes 37,734 tonnes
( 2.8 million lbs) (0.083 billion lbs)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Copper (in sulfide) 2,281 tonnes 66,157 tonnes
( 5.0 million lbs) (0.145 billion lbs)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Saleable product would be paid for on the basis of 85% for
nickel contained in nickel hydroxide and 80% for cobalt hydroxide
and copper in copper sulfide.
Capital and Operating Costs
The initial capital cost of the project is estimated to be $CDN
1,381 million in 3rd Quarter, 2007 Canadian dollars. A contingency
of $CDN 250 million has been included in this cost. The capital
cost has been split in the following manner:
Capital Cost Estimates
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type Area CDN $M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Mining 116.3
----------------------------------------------------------------
Site Development 66.2
----------------------------------------------------------------
Main Process Facilities 390.9
----------------------------------------------------------------
Hydromet Plant & Reagent Services 106.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
Ancillary Buildings & Facilities 66.7
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tailings Facility 44.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities 2.2
----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Directs 792.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indirect Owner's Cost 79.2
----------------------------------------------------------------
Construction Indirects 64.7
----------------------------------------------------------------
Engineering Procurement & Construction Management 95.1
----------------------------------------------------------------
Construction Camp & Catering 32.4
----------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Spares 22.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
Freight 38.5
----------------------------------------------------------------
Start-up & Commissioning Allowance 6.5
----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Indirects 338.4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contingency (approx. 25%) 249.9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL Capital Cost Estimate 1,380.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sustaining capital for the project over 29 years is $CDN 173.5
million. Of this $CDN 8.3 million is spent in Year 4 and $80.5
million is spent in Year 8 to add and replace equipment in the pit.
The remainder is attributed to the capital requirements of the
process and tailings facilities.
The operating cost summary is shown in the following table:
Operating Cost Estimate
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area CDN $/tonne
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
General & Administration (G&A) G&A Labor 0.14
------------------------------------------
Direct 0.29
------------------------------------------
G&A Total 0.43
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mining Ore 1.40
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processing Process Labour 0.59
------------------------------------------
Consumables 5.59
------------------------------------------
Power 1.37
------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous 0.06
------------------------------------------
Process Total 7.60
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL (CDN $/tonne milled) 9.43
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Analysis
At a price of $7.50 US/lb of nickel, $11.00 US/lb of cobalt, and
$1.40 US/lb of copper, an exchange rate of 0.95 US$/CDN$ and a
discount rate of 10.0%, the resulting net present value (NPV) is
$186.9 million Canadian. The project with these assumptions has a
rate of return of 12.2%. Other cases based on various ranges of
metal price are presented as follows:
Pre-tax Net Present Value - Various Cases
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Case 1 Case 2 Base Case 4 Case 5 Present
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commodity Nickel 6.00 6.75 7.50 8.25 9.00 12.00
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(US$/lb) Cobalt 8.80 9.90 11.00 12.10 13.20 34.00
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copper 1.12 1.26 1.40 1.54 1.68 3.15
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRR % 4.8 5.0 12.2 15.3 18.3 31.8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NPV (CDN $M) Cum. Net Cash Flow 889 1,859 2,828 3,797 4,767 9,905
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.0% Discount -22 466 954 1,443 1,931 4,484
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.0% Discount -279 72 422 773 1,123 2,945
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.0% Discount -390 -102 187 476 764 2,258
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.0% Discount -471 -229 13 255 497 1,745
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.0% Discount -553 -362 -172 19 210 1,191
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Payback (yrs) 13.2 8.0 6.4 5.3 4.5 2.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommendations
AMEC indicated in the Study that the deposit is potentially
mineable and that further work is justified. It was recommended
that work in all major areas be undertaken to advance the project
to the pre-feasibility level to better determine the economic
viability of the project. This work includes drilling to better
define the resources and upgrade these into reserves. More
metallurgical work is necessary to ensure that saleable metal
products can be produced. More environmental and geotechnical work
is necessary to allow the project to move forward. The
pre-feasibility study would examine variants to derive the
appropriate path to the development of this deposit. Confirmation
and availability of the required power from the North American grid
is critical to this project.
Qualified Persons
The Qualified persons responsible for the preparation of the
Study on the preliminary assessment are:
- Mr. Greg Kulla, P.Geo. Principal Geologist, AMEC Vancouver
office
- Mr. Gerrit Vos, P.Eng. Principal Mining Engineer, AMEC
Vancouver office
- Mr. Ignacy (Tony) Lipiec, P.Eng. Senior Process Engineer, AMEC
Vancouver office
This Preliminary Assessment includes the use of inferred mineral
resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have
economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to
be categorized as mineral reserves. The study is preliminary in
nature and there is no assurance the mining, metal production, or
cash flow scenarios outlined in this report would ever be realized.
Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have
demonstrated economic viability.
This press release uses the terms "measured" "indicated" and
"inferred" resources. We advise U.S. investors that while those
terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. U.S.
investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of
mineral deposits in these categories would ever be converted to
reserves.
This press release contains "forward looking statements". Such
forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the company's plans to
materially differ from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Known risks include, but are not limited to, financing
risks, commodity price risks, scheduling risks and engineering
risks. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the
statements were made, and readers are advised to consider such
forward-looking statements in light of the risks set forth in the
company's continuous disclosure filings as found at
www.sedar.com.
This news release has been reviewed and approved by Neil Froc,
P. Eng, a Qualified Person consistent with NI 43-101.
MARK JARVIS, President
HARD CREEK NICKEL CORPORATION
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the
accuracy or adequacy of this news release.
Contacts: Hard Creek Nickel Corporation Mark Jarvis President
(604) 681-2300 (604) 681-2310 (FAX) Email: info@hardcreek.com
Website: www.hardcreeknickel.com
Hard Creek Nickel Corporation (TSXV:HNC)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Jun 2024 a Jul 2024
Hard Creek Nickel Corporation (TSXV:HNC)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Jul 2023 a Jul 2024
