Ivanhoe Electric has successfully completed its earn-in agreement to acquire 60% of the Samapleu-Grata nickel and copper project in Côte d'Ivoire.
The Samapleu-Grata nickel-copper project is now a 60:40 joint venture between Ivanhoe Electric and Sama, which recently released a new preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the project.
In addition to a 60% interest at the project level, Ivanhoe Electric also owns 22.7% of the common shares of Sama.
The 2024 PEA reveals that the project has the potential for a conventional open-pit mining operation.
It estimates an average yearly production of 38,627 tonnes of a 26% copper concentrate and 55,119 tonnes of a 13% nickel concentrate. These figures are based on a process plant with a capacity of 5.475 million tonnes per year.
The project is expected to yield an annual production of 7,165 tonnes of nickel metal and 10,043 tonnes of copper metal in concentrate.
The PEA also highlights strong financial potential, with a net present value of $275 million after taxes and an internal rate of return of 22.3%.
The project is expected to require a capital investment of $338 million, with an after-tax payback period of 3.8 years.
These projections are derived from a long-term nickel price of $8.83/lb and a copper price of $3.99/lb.
“We are particularly encouraged by the significant improvement in both the quality and quantity of potential future copper concentrate production at the project compared to earlier studies,” Ivanhoe president and chief executive Taylor Melvin said.
“The results announced by our joint venture partner, Sama, are a product of the hard work by our dedicated joint team. We look forward to working together with Sama on the next steps for our high-quality nickel-copper project.”
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
