IronRidge Resources Limited announced landmark news in completion of a Scoping Study on the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana, West Africa, which confirms it is an industry-leading asset.
HIGHLIGHTS:
✔️ Scoping Study supports business case for 2.0 Million tonnes per annum (“Mtpa”) production operation with life of mine (“LOM”) revenues exceeding US$1.55 Billion, with significant potential to extend LOM.
✔️ Eight year LOM operation, producing an average 295,000tpa of 6% Li2O spodumene concentrate.
✔️ Study delivers exceptional financial outcomes:
???? LOM revenues exceeding US$1.55bn, Post-tax NPV8 of US$345M, IRR of 125% over 8 years
???? US$68M capital cost with industry-leading payback period of <1 year
o C1 cash operating costs of US$247 per tonne of 6% lithium spodumene concentrate Free on Board (“FOB”) Ghana Port
o Pre-tax NPV8 of US$ 539M and EBITDA of US$854M for LOM
o Average EBITDA of US$105M per annum
✔️ Preliminary Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (“ANSTO”) test-work confirms Ewoyaa concentrate produces high purity, battery-grade Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate (“LHM”).
✔️ Project provides outstanding asset fundamentals, logistics and access to infrastructure:
o Conventional open cut mining operation from surface with low stripping ratios
o Simple processing via conventional dense media separation only (“DMS”), producing a premium coarse crush 6% spodumene concentrate saleable product
o Excellent geology and metallurgy with significant value-add potential from feldspar credits
o First quartile cash costs; low capital and operating costs with a low carbon footprint
o Significant exploration upside potential from the historic Egyasimanku Hill deposit (1.5Mt @ 1.66% Li2O) and surrounding 684km2 portfolio
o Close proximity to excellent logistics and infrastructure – only 110km by road from the deep-sea port of Takoradi, adjacent to highway and high voltage (“HV”) powerlines, including hydroelectric sources
✔️ Significant potential for resource upgrades; project metrics substantially improve with increased LOM beyond 10 years.
Commenting on the Company’s latest progress, Vincent Mascolo, CEO of IronRidge, said:
Today’s landmark update regarding the Company’s exceptional Scoping Study confirms that the Ewoyaa Lithium Project is an industry-leading asset and transformational for IronRidge.
“The Study outlines a robust 2.0Mtpa operation which can deliver excellent cash flows, a very quick payback and a pre-tax NPV of over half a billion U.S. dollars from a modest 8-year operation, producing a coarse, premium DMS concentrate product.
“The Project leverages existing infrastructure, including directly adjacent HV power, a major highway within 1km of the site, and the major port of Takoradi less than 2 hours’ drive away.
“Few hard-rock lithium projects worldwide can boast the proximity to existing operational infrastructure, lithium grade and a simple DMS-only process route that separates Ewoyaa from its peers.
“With the benefit of adjacent infrastructure and without the need to include expensive milling and flotation circuits, the Project benefits from a very low upfront capital expenditure.
“Our resource continues to grow, and the upside of the Project is clear; further resource drilling is currently underway and, as such, we expect that the Project metrics will improve beyond the current defined Life of Mine.
“Given these fundamentals, we are very excited by the resurgence and exponential growth potential across the lithium supply chain and reaffirm to the market that IronRidge is ideally poised to capture the lithium market going forward.”
EXCEPTIONAL SCOPING STUDY RESULTS Ewoyaa Lithium Project Supports 2.0Mtpa Operation, January 19, 2021