AMN - GUINEA: Positive PEA for Lola Graphite Project

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for development of the Lola Graphite Project in the Republic of Guinea has been filed by Sama Resources. The study is based on annual production of 50,200 tonnes of graphite concentrate per year over a 16-year mine life.

The NI 43-101-compliant PEA was prepared by Montréal-based Met-Chem, a division of DRA Americas Inc.

It outlines capital costs of US$105 million including contingency of $15 million with operational costs of $372 per tonne of concentrate and $130 per tonne of transport.

The pre-tax NPV (8%) is $204 million and post-tax NPV (8%) is $121 million at an average sales price of $1,328 per tonne.

The PEA estimates a finished grade of over 94% and up to 98% over all size fractions and a strip ratio of 0.39.

A recently updated mineral resource estimate represents an increase of 54% of in-situ graphitic carbon (Cg) at a 3% cut-off grade since publication of the maiden resource.

Several boreholes were completed to increase measured and indicated resources from inferred resources. As such, measured and indicated resources increased from 224,118 to 676,900 tonnes of Cg content at a 3% cut-off-grade, an increase of 201%.

The resource includes a pit-constrained measured and indicated resource of 12.2 million tonnes grading 5.6% Cg and an inferred resource of 2.1 million tonnes grading 6.1% Cg.

Meantime, Sama has received an initial resource estimate for the 100%-owned Gogota nickel-cobalt-scandium deposit also in Guinea.

The estimate includes a pit-constrained inferred resource of 44.9 million tonnes of mineralised material grading 1.28% nickel for 573,040 tonnes of contained nickel. The cobalt grade of the resource is 0.13% for 59,560 tonnes of contained cobalt and the resource also contains 29.4 g/t of scandium for 1.17 tonnes of contained scandium in the limonitic portion of the deposit.

Sama is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company with projects in West Africa.

www.samaresources.com