And current operation Itafos has a 11 year mine life The Itafós Operations follows an open pit mining method. The plant is designed for phosphate ore size reduction and beneficiation at the complex to produce 330,000 tonnes of 28% P205concentrate per year. The Sulphuric acid unit has a design capacity of 220,000 tonnes per year and will be reacted with the P205 to produce the SSP product. About 50,000 tonnes of Sulphuric acid capacity is available for sale which is in excess to the requirement for producing the final product at 50,000 tonnes of Granulated Super Phosphate. The sulphuric acid plant will also generate about 6MW of electricity.
In March 2013, MBAC released an updated resource estimate which delineated a deposit containing 79.0 million tonnes of measured and indicated mineral resources and 12.7 Million tonnes of inferred resources. Only 25% of the land package has been explored for the resource estimate. Further phase 2 drilling of the land could support Itafós' production expansion.
The technical report also outlined the deposit’s proven and probable reserves:
NI-43-101 Updated Technical Report
| Ore Source |
K tonnes |
P2O5 (%) |
| Proven Reserve |
15,954 |
5.09 |
| Probable Reserve |
48,857 |
5.07 |
| Key Parameters of the Project |
| Mine Life |
19 years |
| Average ROM Grade |
5.56% P2O5 in first 10 years (5.08% P2O5 LOM) |
| Strip Ratio |
2.9 LOM |
| OPEX |
$139 US per tonne (first 5 years); $ 162 US per tonne (LOM) |