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West African iron ore focussed Sable Mining (LSE:SBLM), has raised £17.1 million from new and existing shareholders to accelerate development of the Company’s flagship high grade Nimba Iron Ore Project in south-east Guinea – the second largest undeveloped on- or near-rail direct shipping ore project to be held outside the major mining companies in West Africa.
Sable Mining is targeting the completion of a Bankable Feasibility Study in H1 2014 ahead of scheduled commencement of commercial production in 2015.
Nimba has a current JORC Resource of 135.5 million tonnes at 59.4% iron (‘Fe’) and is targeting the delineation of a total JORC Resource of 200 million tonnes of high grade direct shipping ore (‘DSO’) by Q4 2013. Nimba benefits from significant DSO mineralisation at surface and simple metallurgical properties, which have indicated that simple crush and screen processing could be applied, with no beneficiation, thereby enabling low cost production and low capital costs.
Further reducing the anticipated capital expenditure is the fact that Nimba is located only 26km away from a standard gauge railway linking the region to the major Liberian port of Buchanan. Sable Mining has made considerable recent progress on its production schedule, as evidenced by the recent grant by the Republic of Guinea of both a mining licence and an export authorisation for Nimba.
Recent drilling results including grades of up to 63.1% Fe over 6.3m and vertical widths of up to 28.5m at 58.5% Fe, continue to highlight the high quality of this DSO asset. These grades compare favourably to the high grade Australian iron ore projects being developed by the majors in Australia. The Board is confident in Nimba’s potential to yield significantly more tonnes than the currently published exploration target of 200 million tonnes, particularly as Plateau 1, the largest of the three plateaux contained within the Nimba project area, is yet to be drilled.
Sable Mining CEO Andrew Groves said, “I am delighted by the support received from existing shareholders and new investors for the Offering, which was upsized and oversubscribed. Sable is now well funded for the delivery of a Bankable Feasibility Study for the Nimba Iron Ore Project and to push forward with the development of the asset towards production.
“Nimba continues to differentiate itself from its West African peers. With a significant high grade DSO resource of 135.5 million tonnes already demonstrated, combined with the mining licence, export authorisation and existing rail infrastructure nearby, we are confident that Nimba can be developed into a world-class, low-cost mine.”
