12:01 17 Sep 2018
The historic mine operated in the 1920s and 30s and was closed during World War II.
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Myanmar Metals hopes to fund Bawdwin infrastructure with open pit mining at China
Myanmar Metals Limited (ASX:MYL) has shared results of a CSA Global Pty Ltd scoping study for an open pit for the China lode at Bawdwin silver-lead-zinc project in Myanmar, giving the starter pit a 13-year mine life.
The company, previously known as Top End Minerals Ltd, announced the development on Friday and highlighted the project would allow the company to fund life-of-mine infrastructure.
Myanmar Metals reported: “The scoping study indicates the potential to develop a low-cost open pit mining operation in an accelerated time frame, with rapid payback of the life-of-mine infrastructure for future open-pit and underground mining operations.”
The China lode makes up 21 million tonnes of mineable material, or 26% of the total project resources at the Myanmar project, where Myanmar Metals hopes to also mine underground.
Myanmar Metals executive chairman and CEO John Lamb said: “The China pit is the opening move in bringing the Bawdwin polymetallic province back into production.
“We believe the China pit will be the first of at least 3 pits on the Bawdwin concession, followed by a long-life underground mining operation.
“The role of a starter pit is to provide an early cashflow to fund life-of-mine infrastructure and the development of a pipeline of future mines.
“As a result, the economics of the China pit bear a majority of the capital expenditure required for the full development of the Bawdwin province including: processing and flotation facilities, a tailings facility, the restoration of power infrastructure, road upgrades and other civil infrastructure.” READ: Myanmar Metals increases Bawdwin indicated base metals resource by 23%
Early in July, the company increased the size of the indicated resource by 23% to 24.8 million tonnes grading 5.1% lead, 134 g/t silver, 2.8% zinc and 0.2% copper.
Including the inferred resource, the total resource estimate is 82 million tonnes grading 4.8% lead, 119 g/t silver, 2.4% zinc and 0.2% copper.
Myanmar Metals said last week: “The China pit scoping study does not include 60.9 million tonnes of indicated and inferred resources from the China lode (outside the pit shell) and from the Shan and Meingtha lodes.”
Last week the company also said it expected to follow the China pit with more open pits at the Shan and Meingtha lodes.
It also hopes to establish an underground mine for the Shan, Meingtha and China lodes.
Neither of the options were included in the scoping study. Costs and outputs
The study puts capital expenditure at US$191 million and operating costs at US$1.774 billion.
CSA Global predicted the company would have an 8.4 million tonne a year maximum mining rate with a 2.8 strip ratio.
The maximum processing rate would be 1.98 million tonnes a year, with total tonnes at 21 million tonnes grading an average 6% lead, 149.1 g/t silver, 3.1% zinc and 0.2% copper.
Metal recovered to concentrate would be about 1,011 kilotonnes lead, 80,262 kilo-ounces silver, 517 kilotonnes zinc and 30 kilotonnes copper.
Concentrate production would be 1,607 kilotonnes of lead-silver-copper concentrate and 994 kilotonnes of zinc concentrate.
Myanmar Metals holds a majority 51% stake in the northern Shan state project and has an option to grab up to 85% from the vendor and tenement holder Win Myint Mo.
Majority holder Myanmar Metals has previously said it is focused on a prefeasibility study for the historic mine.
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