RICHMOND HILL, Ontario It's official: DYNATEC CORP. is on its way to becoming Canada's next major mining company. It is already a base metal producer, thanks to the recent reopening of the McCreedy West nickel mine near Sudbury, Ont. Its partner there is FNX MINING.
Dynatec announced the signing of an agreement with PHELPS DODGE CORP. covering the possible development of the Ambatovy laterite nickel deposit in Madagascar. By spending approximately US$20 million on the project, Dynatec can earn a 53% interest and become operator of a joint venture. Dynatec's commitment includes the bankable feasibility study, certain other expenses and provision of commercial licences for the use of its metallurgical technologies at the project. The Ambatovy deposit contains an estimated 190 million t of mineralized material containing 1.10% Ni and 0.10 Co.
The Ambatovy laterite project is located in the east-central region of Madagascar, approximately 130 km east of the capital, Antananarivo. It is close to existing infrastructure, including road, rail and port facilities. The bankable feasibility study is to be completed by mid-2004, and project development could begin shortly thereafter. The feasibility study will review the potential of the project to produce 50,000 t of nickel and 4,000 t of cobalt annually over a mine life to exceed 20 years.
The Ambatovy resource is thick, uniform and near surface, which makes it amenable to open pit mining. Previous tests indicated that the resource is also amenable to pressure acid leach (PAL) processing, with good kinetics, high extractions of nickel and cobalt, moderate acid requirements and good liquid/solid separation response for both the ore slurry and PAL slurry. Additional batch and pilot plant tests will be carried out by Dynatec to support the bankable feasibility study, using samples recovered from new test pits and the planned drilling program.
For more information about Dynatec's ambitious plans, contact Mark Utting, the director of communications and investor relations, at 905-780-1980 ext. 329 or utting@dynatec.ca.
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