London Mining Plc

Greenland


Greenland

Greenland_detail

Isua is located 150km Northeast of Nuuk and 100km from a proposed deep seawater port. Isua will produce a premium quality 70% Fe pellet feed concentrate with low impurities and benefits from its position in the warmer south-west corner of Greenland which allows for year round shipping.


In March 2010, London Mining reported a JORC resource estimate completed by Snowden Mining Industry Consultants of 951Mt at 36% Fe. A PFS for a 10Mtpa open pit and processing operation from an initial 451Mt open pit mine plan was completed by SNC Lavalin in June 2010. The June 2010 PFS considered a 10Mtpa operation with a 21 year initial mine life and estimated capital expenditure of USD 1.7 billion. In February 2011 London Mining released the results of a 15Mtpa scoping study completed by SNC Lavalin.


The scoping study considered a 15Mtpa open pit and processing operation with a 15 year initial mine life for estimated capital expenditure of USD 2.0 billion, representing a 22% reduction in capital intensity. Operating costs increased from USD 27 to USD 29/t mostly due to a 20% increase in fuel costs. The scoping study was based on capital and operational cost estimates to a level of accuracy of -30% to +40% with Chinese contractors CCCC and Sinosteel, providing engineering support and cost estimates for certain capital items. The 15Mtpa scoping study and detailed work undertaken for the 10Mtpa PFS is to form the basis of a 15Mtpa bankable feasibility study (“BFS”) which has already commenced and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011.

Highlights of the two studies are as follows:

Study dateScoping Study (15Mtpa) February 2011PFS (10Mtpa)June 2010
Annual production (Mtpa)1510
Mine life (years)1521
Opex (USD/t concentrate)2927
 
Capital expenditure breakdown - USD’000  
Mine142,649131,483
ROM Crushing41,28934,249
Process Plant229,206164,651
Tailings11,1799,368
Product Delivery253,294201,715
Port162,510132,439
Project Sensitivities145,273136,621
Project Infrastructure396,348358,395
Project Indirect Costs397,853345,314
Subtotal1,779,6021,514,235
Contingency (15%)267,000227,100
Total2,046,6021,741,335
Capital Intensity (USD/tpa)136174

The post-tax project economics based on new scoping study estimates and an August 2010 price deck provided by Raw Materials Group (“RMG”) are displayed below. The value of the Isua Project is significantly increased if the Isua concentrate is sold into Europe rather than China, based on a significant freight differential of around USD 25/ WMT.

100% of product sold in China100% of product sold in Europe
NPV8 (USD billion)2.54.5
IRR (%)2333
Payback period (months)3625
Average freight (USD/wmt)338
Average netback  (cdmtu)120159

The product specifications provided by London Mining to RMG based on test work by Studien-Gesellschaft für Eisenerz-Afbereitung (“SGA”) were as follows:

Fe (total)%70.2
FeO%29.8
S%0.12 +/-0.06
P%0.09
SiO2%1.9
Al2O3%0.05
MgO%0.2
CaO%0.16
TiO2%0.01
Na2O%0.005
K2O%0.006
D80µm28.5
Blaine valuecm2/g1,650
Filter cake moisture%< 9.0

London Mining has now completed three seasons of exploration drilling, further to previous drilling which took place during the 1970s, with drill holes from the 2010 campaign to be included in a new resource estimate as part of further feasibility work. The 2010 drill data will be augmented by a further campaign of 7,000 to 8,000 metres of drilling to be undertaken in 2011 to allow conversion of all necessary resources currently in the Inferred category to be upgraded to Indicated. In addition, all necessary base line data collections, advanced field drilling programs, (EIA) and Social Impact Assessments (SIA) have been, or are expected to be undertaken to allow completion of a full BFS by the end of 2011 with construction estimated to start in 2012 and first production at the beginning of 2015. London Mining is investigating strategies to fund the BFS programme by selling a minority stake at project level and also plans to introduce a strategic partner to provide funding for construction. A separate listing for Isua is also being considered.