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REGIONAL NEWS - U.S. & CANADA
costs of around $1,000/oz. Vezza is expect- ed to have a mine life of nine years.
Public Lands Near Grand Canyon Withdrawn from New Mining Claims
The Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar, announced January 9 that more than 1 million acres of federal land near the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona will be withdrawn from new uranium and other hardrock mining claims over the next 20 years. The with- drawn area includes 355,874 acres of U.S. Forest Service land in the Kaibab National Forest; 626,678 acres of Bureau of Land Management lands; and 23,993 acres of split estate—where surface lands are held by other owners while subsurface minerals are owned by the federal government. The withdrawal does not prohibit previ- ously approved uranium mining and new projects that could be approved on claims and sites with valid existing rights. Approximately 3,200 mining claims are currently located in the withdrawal area. The Bureau of Land Management esti- mates that up to 11 uranium mines, including four that are currently approved, could still be developed during the with- drawal period based on valid pre-existing rights. Without the withdrawal, there could be 30 uranium mines in the area over the next 20 years, including the four that are currently approved, with as many as six operating at one time, the statement said. In response to the Department of the Interior announcement, National Mining Association President and CEO Hal Quinn issued a statement, saying: "The Secre- tary's decision to rule out mining on more than 1 million acres of federal land deprives the United States of energy and minerals critically important to its economy and does so without compelling scientific evidence that is necessary for such a far- reaching measure."
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, said, "The Grand Canyon deserves to be protected and it is, but this decision is part of a misguided effort to impose 'buffer zones' around national parks and other federal lands that effectively lock-up vast areas without Congressional approval. This type of unilat- eral extension of the borders of the park is unjustified and sets a terrible precedent." Last year, Murkowski sent a letter to Secretary Salazar and Energy Secretary
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Steven Chu asking what steps the adminis- tration was taking to reduce the nation's dependency on foreign suppliers for 90% of its uranium needs. Salazar's withdrawal announcement was not the answer she was hoping for, Senator Murkowski said.
Prodigy Reports Robust PEA for Magino Project Prodigy Gold, a Canadian junior based in Vancouver, British Columbia, has announced results of an updated, NI 43- 101 compliant preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of its 100%-owned Magino gold project in Ontario. The PEA outlines an ambitious open-pit project that would produce an average of 249,300 oz/y of gold over an 11-year mine life. Year-one gold production is projected at about 350,000 oz at a mined grade of 1.57 g/mt gold. Pre-production capital costs are esti- mated at C$405.6 million. Payback period is estimated at 1.9 years.
The Magino mine property is a past-pro- ducing underground gold mine located 40 km northeast of Wawa, Ontario. The mine was operated by Muscocho Explorations from 1988 until the summer of 1992. Open-pit mining for Prodigy's Magino development is assumed to be undertaken by the owner, using leased equipment. The pit design, optimization and production schedule prepared by Tetra Tech calls for total mine production of 74.23 million mt, grading 1.15 g/mt gold. Total gold recovered over an 11-year project life is estimated at 2.61 million oz. The life-of-mine average strip ratio is estimated at less than 2.1 to 1. The PEA contemplates a conventional carbon-in-pulp processing facility operat- ing at 20,000 mt/d, with 95% availability. A gyratory crusher fed by direct dump from 200-mt trucks will be used as the primary crusher. Life-of-mine operating cash costs, excluding sustaining capital, are projected to average $461/oz (C$496/oz). Brian J. Maher, president and CEO of Prodigy Gold said: "This PEA will serve as the template for a full feasibility study, expected to be completed in 2012. The results of the PEA validate our operational model for Magino, and the company looks forward to rapidly advancing the project in the coming year."
Prefeasibility Study Positive for Kings Valley Lithium Western Lithium USA Corp. has received a positive, NI 43-101 compliant prefeasibil- ity study for its Kings Valley lithium project
in northern Nevada from a collaboration of firms that included Tetra Tech, Reserva International, and K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies. The study evaluates two sce- narios: a startup scenario based on mining and processing ore at a design throughput rate of 2,100 mt/d, producing 13,000 mt/y of lithium carbonate starting in 2015; and a full-production scenario to double production four years after startup to 26,000 mt/y of lithium carbonate. Byproduct production will include 90,000 mt/y of potassium sulphate and 100,000 mt/y of sodium sulphate. Lithium ore will be extracted from an open-pit mine using a Wirtgen surface miner, and waste rock will be mined using end-dump haul trucks and hydraulic shovels. Mine life is estimated at 20 years, processing a total of 25.5 million mt of ore at an average grade of 0.40% lithium, using a 0.32% lithium cut-off grade. The Kings Valley study demonstrates that the project could produce lithium car- bonate at an estimated average cash cost of $968/mt, net of byproduct credits, once full production of 26,000 mt/y is achieved. Initial startup capital, including contin- gency, is expected to be approximately $248 million. Incremental development capital to double lithium carbonate pro- duction to 26,000 mt/y is estimated at approximately $161 million. Sustaining capital of $40 million, including contin- gency, is primarily composed of surface mine equipment, expansions of dry stack tailings and surface water management, and mine closure.
Upcoming milestones for the project include submission of the Plan of Opera- tions to the Bureau of Land Management during the first quarter of 2012, which will initiate the formal permitting process; starting construction of a lithium carbonate demonstration plant; and starting work on a definitive feasibility study. The Kings Valley project is located in Humboldt county, Nevada, approximately 100 km north-northwest of Winnemucca along U.S. Highway 95 to Orovada and then 40 km west-northwest of Orovada on paved State Highway 293. The project benefits from established infrastructure, including road access, power supply, and a local water source. Western Lithium was spun out from Concordia Resource Corp., formerly Western Uranium Corp., in July 2008, and Con- cordia Resource Corp. retains an approxi- mate 28.5% interest in the company.
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