Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/1190748
D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 www.resourceworld.com 33 Northern Graphite Corp.'s [NGC- TSXV; NGPHF-OTCQX] flagship asset is the 100%-owned Bissett Creek graph- ite project in Renfrew County, southern Ontario, Canada that features excellent infrastructure, ports and markets. Bissett Creek has an NI 43-101 bankable final Feasibility Study and the major mining permit obtained. Additional operational permits and species-at-risk permitting are required to commence operations and are expected to be received shortly. Northern anticipates that it will be in a position to begin mine construction in the near future, subject to the availability of financing. Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. [NOU- TSXV; NMGRF-OTCQX; NM9-FSE] recently awarded SNC-Lavalin, in partnership with Seneca and Boucher-Lachance Architects, the contract for detailed engineering and procurement for construction of its con- centrator as part of its Matawinie graphite project located 130 km north of Montreal, Québec. The company has also successfully completed test work and inspections of the micronization and spheronization equip- ment ordered for its secondary graphite transformation demonstration plant which will begin producing spherical graphite on a small scale to pre-qualify its product among potential clients A feasibility study was released in October, 2018 that demonstrated the high profitability of the project with a projected production of 100,000 tonnes per year of graphite concentrate for 25.5 years, with commercial production slated to begin in 2022. South Star Mining Corp. [STS-TSXV; STSBF-OTCQB] has a 100% interest in its advanced Santa Cruz graphite project in Bahia State, Brazil. Bench scale and pilot plant tests have been carried out. Indicated Resources are pegged at 14,990,400 tonnes grading 2.70% graphite with 3,572,100 tonnes Inferred at 2.90% graphite. A 2017 PEA stated there is an After-tax NPV (5%) of US $117 million and an IRR of 78%. Payback period is two years with an open pit life-of-mine of 19 years. Annual pro- duction for years 1-5 is 18,900 tpy and 15,800 tpy for years 5-23. Capex would be US $20.5 million. "We are talking with some partners for the processing side; however, we prefer to put the mine into production and operate it ourselves," said CEO Richard Pearce. The earlier PEA will be upgraded shortly to a Pre-Feasibility Study that will envisage a two-phased approach; the first phase with a US $8-10 million Capex would utilize a 5,000 tonne-per-year pilot plant. After two years, the second phase would be 25,000 tonnes-per-year using a concentrate plant with a Capex US $25-30 million. The original tailings dam plan will be replaced using filtered tailings technology and no dam. The Capex would not include the truck and shovel fleet as mining would be done with a contract mining company, Pearce told Resource World. n 510_NMG_Demie-page_Magazine_F.indd 2 510_NMG_Demie-page_Magazine_F.indd 2 2019-12-03 11:34:20 2019-12-03 11:34:20 MINING