RE:RE:MIN in US Dollar termsLiquid1 wrote: https://investorintel.com/technology-metals-intel/excelsior-mining-copper-star-rising/
With MIN piquing intests in so many places around the world (noticed by so many analysts in many countries), one would have thought that MIN should be traded at $0.50/share giving a market cap of only $70MM??
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If MIN gets its robust BFS out and its mining permits granted, then it will be big gains from current price of under $0.30?!
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Excerpts from the article:
. So when we stumbled on Excelsior Mining (MIN.v) that had managed to chop its capex by 80% through some predatory asset buying at a bankruptcy auction and can boast of a cash cost at a third of the current metal price, we thought we had found a rare bird indeed. . The Strategy
With capex being the noose dangling in front of most start-up miners these days, Excelsior has been able to turn Nord’s misfortune into its advantage picking up all the processing plant it needs for quite literally a song.
According to the company the SX-EW plant at Johnson Camp is in good working order, and once the Gunnison Project to the south is permitted and ready for production, it expects that the copper solutions can be easily processed through the existing Johnson Camp facilities. This has allowed Excelsior to significantly reduce the upfront capital requirements and the time required for the start-up of the Gunnison Project. It also intends to have its geologists examine the potential of Johnson Camp, especially since this is the first time in its 130-year history that the entire Johnson Camp district has been consolidated under single ownership.
The Updated PFS
Last month Excelsior Mining released the Updated Prefeasibility Study for the Gunnison copper project in SE Arizona. The study incorporated the Johnson Camp acquisition and staged production plan. Initial production is targeted at 25 million pounds of copper cathode for capital costs of $45.9mn. There will be a ramp-up to full production of 125 million pounds per annum. This staged approach lowers the initial capital costs and reduces overall financing risk.
Highlights of the North Star Gunnison Copper Project “Acid Plant” option include:
- Pre-tax Net Present Value of $1.2 billion (post-tax of $829 million) at a 7.5% discount rate (using a copper price of $2.75/lb)
- Pre-tax Internal Rate of Return of 57.9% (post-tax of 44.8%)
- Pre-tax payback period of 3.7 years (after tax payback period of 4.3 years)
- Initial estimated capital cost (excluding sustaining capital) of $45.9 million (including a 20% contingency)
- Average life-of-mine operating costs of $0.70 per lb
- Over 850 million pounds of copper added to the probable mineral reserve; an increase of 24%;
- In-situ Recovery mine life of 27 years
- Sensitivity copper price analysis demonstrates a pre-tax IRR of 30.8% and a post-tax IRR of 26.2% using a $2.00 per pound copper price
The PFS includes all the technical work that was recently completed and required for the Bankable Feasibility Study which is being prepared for year’s end.
The economics of the latest plan compare favourably to Excelsior’s 2014 PFS, with its massive $284.74 million capital cost. In exchange there has been only a slight increase in operating costs. The company is now targeting early 2018 for the start-up of production.
Permitting & Timeline
Excelsior has submitted permit applications to both the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The ADEQ is responsible for issuing the Aquifer Protection Permit and the EPA is responsible for issuing the Underground Injection Control Permit. These are the two primary operating permits that Excelsior will need to obtain prior to commencing operations. Excelsior is working with both the ADEQ and the EPA and expects to receive draft permits by early 2017. Subsequent to a public review period, Excelsior has stated that it anticipates receiving all operating permits by mid-2017.
- See more at: https://investorintel.com/technology-metals-intel/excelsior-mining-copper-star-rising/#sthash.Uf7vfUBG.dpuf