NI Technical Report Nkamouna Cobalt Project Feasibility Study. Prepared for. Geovic Mining Corp.

Transcription

1 NI Technical Report Nkamouna Cobalt Project Feasibility Study Prepared for Geovic Mining Corp. January 18,

2 NI Technical Report Nkamouna Cobalt Project Feasibility Study Prepared for Geovic Mining Corp. January 18, Prepared by Richard J. Lambert, P.E. Alan C. Noble, P.E.

3 CONTENTS 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Overview Location Project Ownership Geology Mineralization Exploration Resource Modeling Resource Statement Reserve Estimate Mining Mine Design Mine Operations Metallurgy Processing Tailings Disposal and Management Site Water Management Ancillary Facilities Regional Infrastructure Implementation Plan Reclamation and Closure Cobalt and Nickel Sales Project Economic Model Base Case Evaluation Study Conclusions Adequacy of Procedures Adequacy of Data Adequacy of Preliminary Feasibility Compliance with Canadian NI Standards Study Recommendations INTRODUCTION AND TERMS OF REFERENCE Terms of Reference Purpose of the Technical Report Sources of Information Site Visit Terms and Definitions 2.3 i

4 3.0 RELIANCE ON OTHER EXPERTS PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION Property Description Property Area Location Prospecting, Exploration and Mining Rights Project Ownership Mineral Tenure Property Survey Surface Land Ownership Environmental and Permitting Permits Required for Property Development ACCESSIBILITY, CLIMATE, LOCAL RESOURCES, AND INFRASTRUCTURE Access Climate Vegetation Physiography Infrastructure HISTORY Production History GEOLOGIC SETTING Regional Geologic Setting Regional Metallogeny Deposit Geology DEPOSIT TYPES Laterite Deposits Alluvial Deposits 8.2 ii

5 9.0 MINERALIZATION Laterites Laterite Stratigraphy Laterite Mineralogy PROJECT EXPLORATION DRILLING Sample Openings SAMPLING METHODOLOGY Pit Sampling Trench Sampling Drill Hole Sampling SAMPLE PREPARATION, ANALYSIS AND SECURITY Sample Preparation Assaying Sample Preparation for Assaying Laboratory Qualifications Laboratory Methods Inter-Laboratory Comparisons Quality Control Actlabs Quality Control Geovic Sample Splits Geovic Standards Excluded Samples and Reasons DATA VERIFICATION PAH Samples ADJACENT PROPERTIES 15.1 iii

6 16.0 METALLURGICAL TESTING AND MINERAL PROCESSING Metallurgical Testwork Physical Upgrading Tests Leaching and Metal Recovery Testing Metallurgical Performance Testwork Summary and Conclusions Process Description Physical Upgrading (PUG) Metals Recovery Plant (MRP) Reagents Tailings Disposal Process Water Balance MINERAL RESOURCE Resource Model Modeling Coordinate System Block-Model Location and Size Parameters Pit and Drill Hole Data Collar Data Lithologic Data Assay Data Conversion of Collar, Lithology, and Assay Data for Resource Estimation Estimation of Missing Manganese Assays from Cobalt Topographic Model Compositing Lithologic Surface Models Top of Mineralization Surface Model Construction of the Unfolded Model Basic Statistics by Lithologic Unit Cobalt Grade Distributions Grade Zone Models Variograms Cobalt Low-Grade Zone Variograms Cobalt Mid-Grade Zone Variograms Cobalt High-Grade Zone Variograms iv

7 Nickel Low-Grade Zone Variograms Nickel High-Grade Zone Variograms Manganese Variograms Grade Estimation Sample Grid-Spacing Model Resource Classification Model Comparison of Inverse Distance and Nearest Neighbor Models Resource Summary Estimation of Mining Dilution Recommendations Cobalt and Nickel Recoveries Density and Specific Gravity Pit Design Mineral Reserve Statement Summary and Conclusions Adequacy of Procedures Adequacy of Data Compliance with Canadian NI Standards OTHER RELEVANT DATA AND INFORMATION INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS Study Conclusions RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES ILLUSTRATIONS ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPING OR PRODUCING PROPERTIES Mining 23.2 Cobalt and Nickel Recoveries Markets and Metal Prices 23.4 v

8 23.4 Capital and Operating Costs Capital Cost Summary Operating Cost Summary Unit Operating Costs Economic Analysis Financial Statements Cameroon Taxes Depreciation and Amortization Other Major Assumptions and Criteria CERTIFICATE OF QUALIFIED PERSONS 24.1 TABLES 1-1 Mineral Resource Statement Mineral Reserve Statement Economic Evaluations Mine Permit Boundary Southeast Cameroon Land Uses Laterite Stratigraphy Selected Minerals in Laterite Profile Lateritic Nickel-Cobalt Deposits World-wide Exploration Sample Openings Nkamouna Sample Standards, Filtered Results Analyses of PAH Samples Collected at Nkamouna Mini-Bulk Sample Pilot Plant Testing Pilot Plan Results PUG Concentrate Design Base Analysis MRP Annual Productions Block Model Size and Location Parameters Summary of Samples Used for Resource Estimation Summary of Drill Hole Data Not Used for Resource Estimation Summary of Lithologic Codes Used for Estimation Modification of Assay Data Regression Coefficients for Estimation Manganese from Cobalt Results from Applying Regression Equations to the Test Data Set Basic Statistics for 1-m Composited Cobalt Grade vi

9 17-9 Basic Statistics for 1-m Composited Nickel Grade Basic Statistics for 1-m Composited Manganese Grade Grade Range Parameters and Capping Grades for Cobalt Grade Range Parameters and Capping Grades for Nickel Grade Range Parameters and Capping Grades for Manganese Composite Selection Parameters Inverse Distance Weighting Parameters Inverse Distance Modeling Statistics and Smoothing Factors Comparison of IDP Model and Nearest Neighbor Models Summary of Measured, Indicated, and Inferred Resources Economic Parameters for Calculation of the Net Value per Pound Cobalt Proven and Probable Reserves by Block Capital Expenditure ($US x 1,000) Initial Capital Expenditure (in $US millions) Unit Operating Cost Summary Reserve Case and Base Case Economic Evaluation Annual Income Summary (in US$ millions) Annual Cash Flow Summary (in US$ millions) Depreciation Rates FIGURES 4-1 General Location Map for the Nkamouna Cobalt Project Location of Laterites and Mining Permit Boundary Location and Access Map Regional Geology Regional Stratigraphy Deposit Geology Laterite Deposit Stratigraphy Nkamouna Sampling Plan Trench Photo Sampling at Nkamouna Truck Mounted Reverse-Circulation Drill Rig at Kongo Camp Two Man Pitting Crew with Basic Equipment Pit Showing Prior Drill Hole in far Corner and Four Additional Sampling Channels Sample-Preparation Facility at the Kongo Camp Sample-Preparation Facility at the Kongo Camp Cobalt Assays of Original and Second Splits, Nkamouna Physical Upgrade Plant - Process Flow Diagram of Crushing Circuit Physical Upgrade Plant Process Flow Diagram, 2,000 tpd Concentrate Attrition Circuit Metal Recovery Plant Process Flow Diagram, Leaching Circuit Metal Recovery Plant Process Flow Diagram, Solvent Extraction Circuit vii

10 16-5 Metal Recovery Plant Process Flow Diagram, Pyrohydrolysis Circuit Typical Cross-Section of Pit/Drill Hole Cobalt Grade, Comparing Flat Model and Unfolded Model Nickel and Manganese Correlation to Cobalt by Lithologic Unit Cumulative Frequency Plots of Cobalt Grade Distributions Fitted for Cobalt Grade Cumulative Frequency Plots of Nickel Grade Cumulative Frequency Plots of Manganese Grade Grade Distributions by Grade Zone for Uncapped, Nearest-Neighbor Cobalt Grade Resource Tonnage by Cobalt Cutoff Grade, Resource Class, and Lithology Resource Cobalt Grade by Cobalt Cutoff Grade, Resource Class, and Lithology Resource Nickel Grade by Cobalt Cutoff Grade, Resource Class, and Lithology As Mined Topo with Mining Blocks Typical Pit Advance Infrastructure Map Sensitivity of NPV After Tax Sensitivity of NPV Before Tax viii