Overview
| Stage | Preliminary Economic Assessment |
| Mine Type | Open Pit |
| Commodities |
- Niobium
- Ferrous Niobium
- Nb2O5
|
| Mining Method |
|
| Mine Life | 29.6 years (as of Jan 1, 2020) |
Source:
p. 53
Contiguous mining concessions #13758, #13759, and #13760 were held by Consolidated Morrison Explorations Ltd., Argor Explorations Ltd. and Goldray Mines Ltd. as of 1965, respectively. Ownership of these concessions was eventually consolidated and held by Barrick Gold Corporation (60%), Goldcorp Inc. (9%), and James Bay Columbium/Consolidated Morrison (31%). In June 2016, Niobay entered into an agreement whereby it acquired a 100% interest in the Project, subject to a 2% NSR royalty.
The single cell claims contiguous with LEA-19586 were renewed and issued as of September 1, 2020 and are 100% owned by Niobay.
Contractors
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Summary:
The James Bay Niobium Deposit is hosted by the Carbonatite Complex and occurs in the northern portion of the KSZ of the Superior Province. Numerous alkalic and carbonatite intrusions occur along this structure, which extends from the east shore of Lake Superior northeast to James Bay. Rocks in the general area of the Property are characterized by granulite facies rank gneisses and a pervasive north- to northeast-trending fault pattern.
The Carbonatite Complex is overlain by approximately 10 m of overburden and 20 m of Lower Devonian rocks of the Sextant Formation consisting of poorly bedded sandstone, mudstone, siltstone, and loosely cemented conglomerate.
The Carbonatite Complex appears to be a dyke-like body with a long axis striking north. The enclosing gneisses are described as mylonitic or augen gneisses.
The principal niobium-bearing mineral is pyrochlore, but niobium also occurs, to a much lesser extent, in the mineral columbite.
According to Stockford (1972), the main pyrochlore-bearing phases of the Carbonatite Complex include lineated dolomitic carbonatite, calcite-dolomite carbonatite breccia, massive calcite-dolomite carbonatite, and “crushed” dolomitic carbonatite.
Significant pyrochlore mineralization occurs only in sodium and magnesium-rich phases of the carbonatite. The highest-grade mineralization occurs in a mixed dolomite-calcite host. The pure dolomitic host produces intermediate grades and pure calci ........
Summary:
The James Bay Niobium Deposit is amenable to both open pit mining and underground mining methods given the proximity to surface and the value of the mineralization.
The Open Pit Scenario shows the most advantages for various reasons including better nearby mining experience in open pit mining; simplicity of operation; source of borrow material for tailings storage facility construction; easier scalability of operation to future expansions. However, the Open Pit Scenario represents the largest footprint. The following information relates only to the selected Open Pit Only Scenario with the other options described in the other sections of the report.
The Open Pit Scenario generates 70.8 Mt of mill feed over the life-of-mine (“LOM”) and an average grade of 0.44% Nb2O5 sufficient for a 30-year life Project. The open pit is mined out by Year 24 of operations with processing continuing with stockpiled low-grade material. A full year of pre-production mining is planned where overburden and waste rock are mined to expose mineralized material and provide construction materials for the tailings storage facility embankments.
Mining of the James Bay Project consists of four nested pit phases. Waste rock will be disposed of in the primary dump adjacent to the pit. Overburden material will be dumped in a distinct overburden dump to be reused on closure. The open pit generates 21.2 Mt of overburden and waste over the LOM for an average LOM strip ratio of 1 ........
Source:
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Flow Sheet:
Summary:
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Projected Production:
| Commodity | Product | Units | Avg. Annual | LOM |
|
Niobium
|
Metal
|
t
| 5,470 | 164,100 |
|
Nb2O5
|
Concentrate
|
kt
| ...... | |
Operational Metrics:
| Metrics | |
|
Daily ore mining rate
| 6,600 t * |
|
Daily processing rate
| 6,600 t * |
|
Daily processing capacity
| 6,000 t * |
|
Annual mining rate
| 10 Mt * |
|
Annual ore mining rate
| 2.4 Mt * |
|
Annual processing rate
| 2.41 Mt * |
|
Stripping / waste ratio
| 1.8 * |
|
Waste tonnes, LOM
| 127.3 Mt * |
|
Total tonnes mined, LOM
| 198.14 Mt * |
|
Tonnes processed, LOM
| 70.8 Mt * |
* According to 2020 study.
Reserves at July 9, 2020:
Mineral Resources are reported using a cut-off grade of 0.3% Nb2O5 based on an Underground Mining Scenario, an operating cost of CAD 70/t, and a metallurgical recovery of 70%.
| Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
|
Indicated
|
29.7 Mt
|
Nb2O5
|
0.53 %
|
158 kt
|
|
Inferred
|
33.8 Mt
|
Nb2O5
|
0.52 %
|
177 kt
|
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
| Document | Year |
|
...................................
|
2021
|
|
...................................
|
2020
|
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