icon resources presentation june 2009
DESCRIPTION
Managing Director John Bishop made this presentation at the Gold Coast Resources Showcase June 2009.TRANSCRIPT
Mt Carbine Tungsten Project
ASX: III
Gold Coast Resources Showcase June ‘09
DisclaimerNo representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information contained herein. Any forward-looking information in this presentation has been prepared on the basis of a number of assumptions which may prove
to be incorrect. This presentation should not be relied upon as a recommendation or forecast by Icon Resources Ltd.
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Mt Carbine Tungsten: Icon’s flagship project
NW Qld: Iron oxide-copper-gold-uranium (IOCGU); zinc; nickel; iron ore
Central Qld: Copper-Zinc at Fitzroy Project inferred resource:1.75Mt @ 1.7% Cu + 2% Zn
NSW: Drill-ready Gold targets at Peel Fault Project
Tas: Professor Zinc Project on hold
Mt Carbine : A ‘World Class’ MineMt Carbine : A ‘World Class’ MineMt Carbine : A ‘World Class’ MineMt Carbine : A ‘World Class’ MineMt Carbine : A ‘World Class’ MineMt Carbine : A ‘World Class’ MineMt Carbine : A ‘World Class’ MineMt Carbine : A ‘World Class’ Mine
Mt Carbine
in 1978
Mt Carbine produced ~half of Australia’s annual tungsten.
At one point, the world’s largest tungsten producer outside China
Exceptionally high-grade concentrates of wolframite and scheelite
Mine closure in 1986, due to price collapse, stopped underground
development to access ~10Mt of higher grade mineralisation.
Objective: To ReObjective: To ReObjective: To ReObjective: To ReObjective: To ReObjective: To ReObjective: To ReObjective: To Re--------start a Longstart a Longstart a Longstart a Longstart a Longstart a Longstart a Longstart a Long--------Term, HardTerm, HardTerm, HardTerm, HardTerm, HardTerm, HardTerm, HardTerm, Hard--------
Rock Mining Operation at Mt Carbine ASAPRock Mining Operation at Mt Carbine ASAPRock Mining Operation at Mt Carbine ASAPRock Mining Operation at Mt Carbine ASAPRock Mining Operation at Mt Carbine ASAPRock Mining Operation at Mt Carbine ASAPRock Mining Operation at Mt Carbine ASAPRock Mining Operation at Mt Carbine ASAP
Icon has acquired 100% of Mt Carbine Tungsten Project (2.5% royalty to vendor)
Infrastructure all in place: Sealed highway and 132KV power lines pass through granted Mine Leases
Good location: ~45mins drive from Port Douglas ~90mins drive from Cairns
Mt Carbine Resources and MineralisationMt Carbine Resources and MineralisationMt Carbine Resources and MineralisationMt Carbine Resources and MineralisationMt Carbine Resources and MineralisationMt Carbine Resources and MineralisationMt Carbine Resources and MineralisationMt Carbine Resources and Mineralisation
Open-cut. Targeting
~15Mt @ ~0.2% WO3 from
existing 9.6Mt at 0.2% WO3
(JORC compliant ) plus
~7Mt of extensions.
Potential for ~80Mt when
old workings are included.
old working
old workings are included.
Tailings. ~2Mt @ 0.11%
WO3 (JORC compliant)plus ~12Mt of potentially
ore grade material in the
waste and reject dumps.
Plan view of Mt Carbine open cut, tailings and dumps, and
mine lease boundaries
Simplified Financial Model: Simplified Financial Model: Simplified Financial Model: Simplified Financial Model: Simplified Financial Model: Simplified Financial Model: Simplified Financial Model: Simplified Financial Model:
Expanded Open CutExpanded Open CutExpanded Open CutExpanded Open CutExpanded Open CutExpanded Open CutExpanded Open CutExpanded Open Cut(to be tightened by planned Concept Study)
Assumptions
ParameterBase
CaseRange Units Comment
Tonnage 15 (14-16) Mt mining at 2Mt/yr
Grade 0.2 (0.2-0.22) % WO3 80% rejected
Recovery 72 (67-75) % by Ore SortingRecovery 72 (67-75) % by Ore Sorting
Price 200 (150-235) US$/mtuUnit revenue
from production
X Rate 0.75 (0.7-0.8) Au$/US$
All up cost 22.70 ? Au$/tIncludes mining,
processing, rehab, admin & royalites*
Margin 250 (50-500) Au$M 'EBITDA'
Cost per mtu
120 (100-130) US$/mtu Unit cost of production
Mt Carbine Timelines and BudgetMt Carbine Timelines and BudgetMt Carbine Timelines and BudgetMt Carbine Timelines and BudgetMt Carbine Timelines and BudgetMt Carbine Timelines and BudgetMt Carbine Timelines and BudgetMt Carbine Timelines and Budget
Project & Purpose ActivityDate
(Ending)Cost
(Au$M)
Concept Study to demonstrate project
viability
Create ore body models Evaluate mining options
July '09 0.15
Pre-Feasibility to confirm resource & mining
method
Pump out Open Cut Infill & explor. drilling
Nov, '10 3.5
Flowsheet confirmation Feasibility for full mine planning with costings
Flowsheet confirmation Offtaker agreements Mine contracts called
April, '11 0.75
Start Up of miningConstruct process plant
Finalise permitting Start Mine
Nov, '11 36
Tailings for Early Revenue
Re-treatment of tailings in parallel with above activities
Oct, '09 to Nov '11
(10)*
Contingency 3.6
Total $44M* not included in total
Tungsten Properties & OccurrenceTungsten Properties & OccurrenceTungsten Properties & OccurrenceTungsten Properties & OccurrenceTungsten Properties & OccurrenceTungsten Properties & OccurrenceTungsten Properties & OccurrenceTungsten Properties & OccurrenceTungsten (from the Swedish ‘heavy-stone’)Also called wolfram with chemical symbol WHardest metal with the highest melting point and tensile strength Lowest coefficient of expansion of all metalsVery heavy (similar to gold) - high thermal and electrical conductivity.
Commonly occurs as -Wolframite, (Mn,Fe)WO4 - black in colourScheelite, CaWO - light brown; fluoresces under UV lightScheelite, CaWO4 - light brown; fluoresces under UV light
Concentrates produced
from Mt Carbine
tailings in 2008
Tungsten Distribution and ProductionTungsten Distribution and ProductionTungsten Distribution and ProductionTungsten Distribution and ProductionTungsten Distribution and ProductionTungsten Distribution and ProductionTungsten Distribution and ProductionTungsten Distribution and Production
Tungsten industry is made up of: Producers (ie miners)
Processors (value-adding)
End-users
China dominates the first two categories and is strong –and expanding –the third.
China is now a net importer
Tungsten ApplicationsTungsten ApplicationsTungsten ApplicationsTungsten ApplicationsTungsten ApplicationsTungsten ApplicationsTungsten ApplicationsTungsten ApplicationsTungsten is mostly used for ‘hard metal’ construction (machine-cutting tools, etc)Growing applications in: electronics, medicine and catalytic convertersAnnual consumption is ~80kt of which ~20kt is recycled Traded through individual contracts –not via the LME.
Car horns & safety switches (conductive)
Golf clubs, golf balls, golf shoe spikes
Some Everyday Uses of Tungsten
Golf clubs, golf balls, golf shoe spikes
Snow tyre studs
Vibrating mechanism in a mobile phone
Dental drills
Light globes
Ball point pens (hard-wearing)
Heated car windows
Fishing sinkers (heavy; non-toxic)
A replacement for chrome plating?
Tungsten prices up x 4 (in US$) over the last few years China, with ~66% of the world’s reserves, is now a net importer
Price down ~20% (in US$) in recent months, but analysts predict sustained demand.
Tungsten PriceTungsten PriceTungsten PriceTungsten PriceTungsten PriceTungsten PriceTungsten PriceTungsten Price
3
WO3 Concentrate Pricing
1yr APT
Tungsten is usually priced in metric tonne units (mtu) of WO3 which is 10kg of WO3 or 7.93kg W. Prices are also quoted in the refined product APT (ammonium paratungstate) which trades at a premium of 20-30% above the WO3 price.
$/m
tu W
O3
1/2009
6/’09
6/’096/’08
from Talking Tungsten PDAC, Mar 2009
Chinese are importing plus a strong desire for non-Chinese processors to secure a long-term, non-Chinese supply
Why Now?Why Now?Why Now?Why Now?Why Now?Why Now?Why Now?Why Now?
from Talking Tungsten PDAC, Mar 2009
Mt Carbine Wolframite
Why Icon?Why Icon?Why Icon?Why Icon?Why Icon?Why Icon?Why Icon?Why Icon?
Mt Carbine is a significant, near ready-to-mine tungsten resource
Mt Carbine has an NPV of $51M (Resource Capital Research June ’09)
Icon Market Capitalisation is ~$5M
~4Mt can be extracted from the present pit and up to ~15Mt from an expanded open cut.
Open Pit Potential (1)Open Pit Potential (1)Open Pit Potential (1)Open Pit Potential (1)Open Pit Potential (1)Open Pit Potential (1)Open Pit Potential (1)Open Pit Potential (1)
Open Pit Potential (2)Open Pit Potential (2)Open Pit Potential (2)Open Pit Potential (2)Open Pit Potential (2)Open Pit Potential (2)Open Pit Potential (2)Open Pit Potential (2)
Quartz veins at base of pit - at time of mine closure
‘Blind’ lodes which do not reach the surface with suggestion that the mineralisation improves with depth.
Wolframite occurs within the quartz veins. Scheelite occurs in narrow cross-cutting veins in both quartz and host rock. (W:S = ~4:1)
Plan view
previous drilling with +0.1%
WO3 intersects in purple
Open Pit Potential (3)Open Pit Potential (3)Open Pit Potential (3)Open Pit Potential (3)Open Pit Potential (3)Open Pit Potential (3)Open Pit Potential (3)Open Pit Potential (3)Perspective view looking
SW, includes old u/g
mine plan
Concept Study will check on previous estimates of ~15Mt accessible from
an expanded pit included 4Mt from the floor of the existing pit.
Underground PotentialUnderground PotentialUnderground PotentialUnderground PotentialUnderground PotentialUnderground PotentialUnderground PotentialUnderground Potential
Inferred JORC compliant resource of ~9.6Mt @ 0.2% WO3
A bulk mining operation was being developed with u/g crusher and conveyor belt ore delivery at time of closure
Decline driven ~500m when mine closed
Decline Portal
(currently blocked off)
‘North’ (red) and ‘South’ (blue) stopes designed for a sub-level block caving
operation prior to closure in the 1980s.
Updating the modelUpdating the modelUpdating the modelUpdating the modelUpdating the modelUpdating the modelUpdating the modelUpdating the model
Just received:
Preliminary wire-Preliminary wire-frame model of the ore zones
Inferred JORC resource for #3 + #4 tailings of ~2Mt @ ~0.1% WO3
Metallurgical testing by Icon indicates that a recovery of between ~50% and 70% should be achievable
Tailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings Potential
#4 tailings grade x thickness image
2009 Bulk sampling #4 tailings
Tailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings PotentialTailings Potential
Icon is currently negotiating with several parties who have expressed an interest in re-treating the tailings
An early start up tailings operation would provide a modest profit until the primary project starts up
The tailings plant could form the foundation of the primary ore circuit
Total ~12Mt Waste and Reject Dumps Old records suggest may be ore grade
Old workings along Carbine Hill only tested by one drillhole
WASTE DUMP
Dumps and Surrounding PotentialDumps and Surrounding PotentialDumps and Surrounding PotentialDumps and Surrounding PotentialDumps and Surrounding PotentialDumps and Surrounding PotentialDumps and Surrounding PotentialDumps and Surrounding Potential
Old records suggest may be ore grade (+0.07 – 0.1% WO3)
Potential to extend open cutTargeting ~15Mt
Project ConsultantsProject ConsultantsProject ConsultantsProject ConsultantsProject ConsultantsProject ConsultantsProject ConsultantsProject Consultants
Nick Moony: more than 40 years experience as a
metallurgist, much of it associated with gravity
processing plants (ie tin and tungsten).
John Eltham: 40 years mining experience.
Responsible for the recent development of a major Responsible for the recent development of a major
green-fields tungsten project in Spain.
Icon Icon Icon Icon Icon Icon Icon Icon CorporateCorporateCorporateCorporateCorporateCorporateCorporateCorporate
Dr Andrew White
Chairman
Dr John Bishop
Managing Director
Icon Resources Ltd listed June ’06
ASX code: III
Issued Capital: ~68M shares
(year range 3.5-23c; currently ~7c)Managing Director
Steve Bartrop
Non-executive Director
Darcy Milburn,
Exploration Manager.
(year range 3.5-23c; currently ~7c)
~4M unlisted options
(exercisable at 30+c)
Web Site:
www.iconresources.com.au
from Talking Tungsten PDAC, Mar 2009
� Mt Carbine is one of these projects!