TOP: Aappaluttoq rubies: rough and cut. Photo
courtesy of True North Gems.
LEFT: True North Gems' CEO, Nicholas Houghton,
sits atop the future mine site at Aappaluttoq,
Greenland. Photo courtesy of True North Gems.
to independent appraisers who hung valuations on the gems.
The final assessment rang in between $10
to $10,000 per carat with the average settling
around $30. These test cuts not only proved
a viable market for Aappaluttoq's mined
product but also provided the numbers for
the company to plug into a pre-feasibility
study completed in June 2011, another first
for such a gemstone project.
Without this unique legwork from True
North's unique management (Houghton is
himself a gemologist), Aappaluttoq's recent
project-financing deal would have been a
pipe dream. But now, with both the environmental and social impact assessments
completed and the production permitting
process underway, the groundwork for
construction should begin in the coming
months.
This is a project a junior can build. The
just-under $41 million projected capital
cost is more than manageable, especially
with True North's new partners stumping up for an estimated 60% of the
overall capex. Better still, this earn-in is
contingent on the partners completing
construction rather than simply spending a dollar amount toward completion. If
costs spiral upward, the partners bear the
increase, insulating True North against the
inflation that's been biting the industry of
late. Gem-shoppers, keep an eye out for
polar rubies. n
february 2013
www.resourceworld.com 67
