Canada-based Nickel Creek Platinum said that its fully owned Nickel Shäw project located in Canada will require a total capital cost (capex) of C$2.3bn ($1.69bn) over its life of mine, based on the findings of a pre-feasibility study (PFS).
The capex comprises a pre-production cost of nearly C$1.7bn ($1.25bn) for a three-year construction period and a sustaining capital cost of C$600m ($442m).
Nickel Creek Platinum said that the Nickel Shäw project is estimated to bring post-tax cash flow of C$1.7bn ($1.25bn) over the 19.1 years of life of mine.
According to the PFS, conventional open pit methods would be employed to mine the Nickel Shäw open pit.
Located in southwestern Yukon, the Nickel Shäw project contains the mining exploration and development company’s core nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum group metals (PGMs) Wellgreen deposit and the Formula, Arch, Burwash, Musk, and Quill claims.
The Canadian project comprises more than 2.4 billion pounds of nickel, 1.2 billion pounds of copper, 137 million pounds of cobalt, and 6.9 million ounces of PGMs in the measured and indicated mineral resource categories.
Nickel Creek Platinum president and CEO Stuart Harshaw said: “The PFS is an important milestone in realising the opportunity the Nickel Shäw Project represents in the critical mineral space where it can provide nickel and copper to take advantage of the strong nickel market for EV batteries.
”The sensitivity to energy costs illustrates how working with the different levels of government can lead to a significant improvement in value, especially when combined with the previously announced intention of the Federal government to provide a tax incentive for critical mineral projects such as Nickel Shäw.”
The PFS estimates a post-tax net present value (NPV) of C$143m ($105.27m) for the Canadian project.
It also projects a post-tax internal rate of return of 5.8% for the Nickel Shäw project with an after-tax payback period of 12.7 years.
