NGEx Announces Positive PFS Results for Josemaría

NGEx Resources (TSX:NGQ)has announced the results of a positive Pre-Feasibility Study at its Josemaría project in San Juan province, Argentina.

CEO of NGEx, Wojtek Wodzicki said:

“The PFS shows robust economics and confirms the great potential of Josemaría. Long term copper fundamentals are strong, and the global project pipeline is at multi-decade lows. We believe that this scarcity will lead to premium valuations for companies with construction-ready projects. We plan to work towards fast-tracking Josemaría towards production by starting work on a feasibility study, securing water rights, and advancing our environmental permitting plans.”

As highlighted in the press release:

• A US$2.0 billion after-tax NPV using an 8 percent discount rate and an IRR of 18.6 percent at $3.00/lb copper;
• Strong front end production and cash flows drive a 3.4 year payback period and support a variety of financing alternatives;
• An Initial Probable Mineral Reserve of 1,008 Mt of 0.29 percent copper, 0.21 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, and 0.92 g/t silver (or 0.41 percent copper equivalent);
• Pre-production capital cost of US$2,750 million (excluding costs prior to a construction decision);
• Average annual production (rounded) of approximately 125,000 tonnes of copper, 230,000 ounces of gold, and 790,000 ounces of silver per year at a C1 cost of US$1.26/lb copper equivalent;
• First 3 years full years of annual production average 170,000 tonnes of copper, 350,000 ounces of gold, and 1,000,000 ounces of silver;
• 20 year mine life producing over 5.4 billion lbs of copper and 4.6 million ounces of gold;
• Low strip ratio of 0.71:1 (waste:ore);
• Excellent metallurgy producing a clean, marketable, precious metals rich copper concentrate;
• Design incorporates planning for a fully autonomous haul truck fleet along with high pressure grinding rolls;
• All major mining and infrastructure located in San Juan Province, Argentina – facilitating permitting in one jurisdiction;
• Potential opportunities to further improve the project include: Recovery of additional gold from the oxide cap at Josemaría; Increasing metallurgical recoveries and concentrate grades with additional test work and optimization; and Delineating more or higher-grade material through continued exploration on the company’s extensive land package

Click here to read the full NGEx Resources (TSX:NGQ) press release.