Centaurus Metals (ASX:CTM) has updated the resource estimate for the Jaguar Nickel Project in Brazil, which is now estimated to contain 138.2 million tonnes @ 0.87% nickel for 1.2 million tonnes of contained nickel.
The global resource estimate has increased by 27% since the previous estimate in November 2022 and more than doubled since the maiden resource estimate in June 2020.
Centaurus Metals, which has a $183.59 million market capitalisation, says the mineral resource increase is underpinned by more than 80,000m of new drilling from the 2023 campaigns, alongside resource development and regional exploration drilling.
Managing Director Darren Gordon says the outcomes of the updated resource estimate underlines the quality and scale of the Jaguar Project as the foundation for one of the world’s “few large-scale,” low-cost nickel sulphide developments.
“The new Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) sets Jaguar apart as the highest grade undeveloped nickel sulphide deposit globally with more than one million tonnes of contained nickel metal and unencumbered offtake rights,” Gordon says.
“Delivering another major step-up in the global MRE — including a more than 30% increase in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories to almost one million tonnes of contained nickel — is a fantastic achievement by the entire Centaurus team and marks the culmination of a huge effort over the past four and a half years.
“Importantly, the MRE update contains a high-grade component of 36.1 million tonnes @ 1.49% nickel for 537,900 tonnes of contained nickel metal, which has been estimated using a 1% nickel cut-off, with 8.3 million tonnes @ 1.52% nickel found less than 100m from surface.”
Gordon adds that with this mineralisation close to surface, Centaurus has an opportunity to develop a new mine schedule prior to final investment decision (FID) that focuses on a “higher” nickel grade and “higher” recoveries early in the mine life to improve operating margins, reduce the capital payback period, as well as improve the project economics delivered in the recent Feasibility Study.
The Feasibility Study showed that Jaguar can deliver nickel with first quartile all-in sustaining costs of US$3.57 per pound nickel and class-leading environmental, social, and governance credentials.
“The mining and underground opportunities, along with additional process opportunities, will be fully evaluated and unlocked as part of ongoing value engineering and optimisation work that is expected to further enhance the project,” Gordon says.
“This work is progressing in parallel with completing the mining lease and installation licence approvals and the company’s strategic partnering process, targeted for completion prior to FID.”
Centaurus is working towards a FID in the second quarter of 2025. The company expects to receive the licence approvals in the fourth quarter of this year, while the mining lease should be granted in the first quarter of next year.
In conjunction with the permitting and strategic partnering process over the next six to nine months, Centaurus has begun the Jaguar Value Engineering Process (JVEP).
JVEP includes pit optimisation runs of the new confidence block model, re-optimisation and redesign of the open pits and associated waste containment facilities, rescheduling the mine plan, and redesigning waste containment facilities to minimise pre-strip waste requirements and development capital.
Centaurus also plans to conduct additional metallurgical testing to assess if the nickel grade and recovery relationship can be further improved, prior to implementation.
Depending on the outcome, the company expects that there may be process flowsheet design and equipment selection benefits.
Separately, the company says early-stage testing of the Jaguar and Onça Preta deposits composite samples has shown they are amenable to ore sorting to improve grade with low nickel losses through rejecting dilution waste and waste within the ore intersections.
Further work is required to quantify the amenability throughout several deposits.
During the implementation phase, Centaurus will improve the concentrator layout to further reduce earthworks, conveyor, piping and cable runs, revise concrete and structural steel designs, and review the concentrate filtration and storage requirements for lower volume, “higher grade” concentrate production.
The company is also conducting a Scoping Study on underground operations and Jaguar and Onça Preta, which is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.
The Jaguar Nickel Project lies on the western portion of the Carajás mineral province of Brazil.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Centaurus Metals
