Whittle Consulting ("WCPL") has reported on the completed Enterprise Optimisation study for the Blötberget Project. The final study, of which a summary is now available at the company web page, shows significant upside relative to previously published preliminary results. The optimisation of the previously presented feasibility study increases the net present value by circa 50% to USD 172 million.
The optimisation study aims to provide the NPV, IRR and unit cash cost OPEX by providing improvements to project planning, mine scheduling and a more detailed basis for the final design engineering and costing prior to construction. The upcoming detailed engineering refers to both mine planning and engineering work around the concentrator, as well as the design of the facilities for ore transport and loading of finished products.
At the end of September, the preliminary outcome of the optimisation study performed by Whittle Consulting was published. This showed the possibility of increasing the projects net present value "NPV", to USD 145.4 million, using a discount rate of 8%. The increase is mainly due to an optimisation of mining schedules, while essentially maintaining the assumptions on which the feasibility study is based.
Thereafter, the work has continued with analysis of scenarios, some of which merely optimise the DFS and others which deviate from the assumptions made in the feasibility study. As an example, the possibility of optimising the beneficiation process to maximise magnetite output has been modelled. One consequence of this analysis is the introduction of a third product of a coarser ground magnetite concentration with 67-68%Fe content, which has less power consumption and allows for unused power to be used for additional ore processing. This proved to be able to increase the NPV to just over USD 172 million and deliver an internal rate of return of 21.2% for the project.
Click here to read the full (pdf) press release.
Click here to read the full Enterprise Optimisation Technical Report by Whittle Consulting, published on the Nordic Iron Ore website, November 2020
For information about how Whittle Consulting helped this project, or for more information about the work we do, please do not hesitate to contact us.