Overview

The Ranobe Mine is projected to produce 400,000tpa of ilmenite and 43,000tpa of rutile/zircon concentrate per annum over an initial 20 year mine life. This first phase of development utilises around 20% of the 707mt of JORC Resource defined at Ranobe.

The overall THM grade of 6.54% at Ranobe is high by minerals sands industry standards and the initial Ranobe mine plan focuses on a higher grade area of 145mt averaging 8.1% THM, resulting in one of the highest in-situ ore values in the sector. With no overburden and very low slimes (<5%) simple dry mining can be utilised. The ilmenite and rutile/zircon concentrate can be easily separated utilising standard equipment and existing infrastructure can be leveraged to minimise the initial development capital.

The Ranobe Mine is a robust project with projected low operating costs, high revenue to cost ratio and low capital intensity. The forecast low operating cash cost of ~$95/t of product combined with the high in-situ ore value is projected to result in the mine being one of the highest revenue to cash cost operations in the mineral sands industry. When combined with the low capital intensity and absolute capital required for the initial development, currently estimated as $150m including working capital ,the project is forecast to deliver an IRR of around 45% and an NPV₁₀ of more than $320m over a 19 year life.

The 707mt at 6.5% THM JORC Resource at Ranobe could potentially sustain a life of more than 75 years at the planned initial production rate for the Ranobe Mine demonstrating the very long life of the Tier 1 Toliara Sands Project.