5E Advanced Materials (ASX:5EA) has completed a Prefeasibility Study (PFS) outlining an initial 39.5-year mine life for the Fort Cady Project in California, US.
The study focused on phase one of Fort Cady, converting 41% of the resource into 5.4 million tons of boric acid reserves.
The phase one plant will target delivering 130,000 tons per year of boric acid production – representing 11% of the global boric acid demand today.
Fort Cady’s phase one production presents robust economics with a forecasted pre-tax net present value of US$724.8 million ($1.11 billion) and an 19.2% internal rate of return.
The expected initial project capital cost is US$367 million for phase one plus US$55 million contingency and US$13 million of owner’s cost.
CEO Paul Weibel says the company is now positioned to move into definitive feasibility planning, front-end engineering design-engineering and long-term project financing.
“We have mined and processed for the last 18 months and have qualified product with over 14 large global end users,” Weibel says.
“As we target large-scale commercial production in 2028, we look toward the economic potential of the project, which we expect will provide high-paying jobs in California and be a significant long-term US producer of boron to maintain the security of the boron supply chain in the US.”
In the US, boron is used to make glass, ceramics, and enamels including fibreglass for insulation. Boron compounds are also used to make water softeners, soaps and detergents.
The Fort Cady Project underpins 5E Advanced’s strategy to become a vertically integrated global supplier of critical and industrial materials through in-situ extraction of colemanite, from which the company intends to produce boron and calcium-based products.
Mining permits are in place with the colemanite reserve mined using an in-situ leaching method, which will minimise the surface land disturbance required for the project facilities.
5EA Advanced Materials is focused on becoming a boron producer. The company’s materials business is underpinned by its low-cost, low-carbon output boron resource in Southern California.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: 5EA Advanced Materials
