Elemental gets license for Congo project
Potash developer Elemental Minerals has been awarded a mining license for its Sintoukola potash project in the Republic of Congo. The license covers some 205 km2, which was some 15% of the current exploration license, and included the mineral reserve and resource on which the Sintoukola prefeasibility study (PFS) was based. A PFS into the project has shown that it could deliver some two-million tons a year of muriate of potash, and the underground operation was expected to have a mine life of some 23 years. The project could be developed at a capital cost of $1.85-billion, and would have a net present value of $2.9-billion, and an internal rate of return of 29.3%. Elemental was targeting initial potash production by 2017 and to reach full capacity in 2018.