Thought this would be interesting considering PGM about to update these figures in the next few weeks.
See below the initial feasibility studies on MM completed by Helix in 2001
Summary
“15-year open cut and underground mine generating over 100,000 ounces of PGM's and gold and 5,000 tonnes of copper and nickel per annum
Total cash costs are estimated to be US$250 per ounce after base metal credits.
On this basis, the project would have a net present value (NPV) of up to $205 million (based on a 10% discount rate) and an internal rate of return of 34%.
The pre-production capital cost is estimated to be A$71 million. PGM prices of US$650 and $550 per ounce for platinum and palladium were used for these projections”
Fast forward to 2003 with Pd at US$250…..
From Helix announcements in 2003
“Lonmin's withdrawal coincides with the completion of $8.5 million of
exploration and development expenditure conducted at Munni Munni over
the last two years….The Munni Munni Project has a large
component of Palladium with lesser amounts of Platinum and with its
defined grade of 2.9g/t is reliant on a strong Palladium price. When
the Joint Venture commenced in May 2001 the Palladium price was
US$600.00 per ounce compared with US$250.00 an ounce in January 2003”
Ok so that was the bad new for Helix.
For PGM the key component Palladium is heading back toward the initial Helix PFS range. Also all the other MM products Pd, Rh, Ni and Cu are significantly higher than during 2001. These increases should go along way to offsetting the much larger capex today.
New MM study to be released soon.
METALS
AUSTRALIA'S FIRST PGM MINE LIMBERS UP - 01 April 2001
http://www.theajmonline.com/informaoz/ajm/home.jsp?var_el=archart&art_id=20012764642&seqnum=172
Helix Resources NL has said that it will shortly commit to a $9 million bankable feasibility study into its Munni Munni platinum group metals (PGM) project. This study will build upon encouraging financial projections and exploration results conducted recently into a project previously owned by Hunter Resources.
The Perth-based Company released a suite of positive results in its March quarterly from work completed at the Munni Munni – the group's key asset and major development focus. These included details of a scoping study which indicated that the project's Central Zone alone would underpin a highly profitable 15-year open cut and underground mine generating over 100,000 ounces of PGM's and gold and 5,000 tonnes of copper and nickel per annum. Total cash costs are estimated to be US$250 per ounce after base metal credits. On this basis, the project would have a net present value (NPV) of up to $205 million (based on a 10% discount rate) and an internal rate of return of 34%. The pre-production capital cost is estimated to be A$71 million. PGM prices of US$650 and $550 per ounce for platinum and palladium were used for these projections. Helix's managing director, Mr Rob Mosig, said the company had completed a major drilling program during the March quarter designed to further increase the potential open pit resource east and west of the Central Zone and down dip to a total depth of 800 metres. “The Ferguson Reef is a major mineralised system and we believe that there is significant potential to expand the known resources, which will of course impact on the economics of the project when these are finally determined by the bankable feasibility study,” Mr Mosig said. He added that preliminary mining studies had shown a likely probable reserve of 7.9 million tonnes in the Central Zone containing ore which would be mined by the combination of a small open cut and larger underground operation, at a mining rate of 1.5 million tonnes per annum. “The current drilling program will aim to increase the potential mining reserve of the `extended' Central Zone to 20 million tonnes, while a further 1-2 million tonnes of potential shallow resource is currently being drilled to increase the open cut resource,” he added. Initial metallurgical testwork on Munni Munni ore has been very positive, with early results during the quarter indicating recoveries of up to 70% PGM's, 85% copper and 61% nickel to concentrate. The Ferguson Reef which forms the basis of the project has shown mineralogy which is similar to the Bushveld-style reefs of South Africa, which currently underpin world-class PGM mines.
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