Ann: Trading Halt, page-144

Cross posted from the MRQ thread because it's a good example of why high in-ground value comp's with one's peers are so important. It's a competitive industry no question, and TB isn't perfect, but it's much easier with a head start whittled down than starting at the back of the pack. I think we'll find that the new BFS has increased NPV with a higher net revenue:cost after re-introducing the LTR. We should be getting $4/TiO2 unit for LTE Ilm instead of $2.50/TiO2 unit for P-ilm in the BFSU selling it direct to Bengbu. A lot more revenue than the LTR opex, plus a huge reduction in off-take risk.

The SVM example raised by @Peppie is excellent in illustrating why the value in mineral sand deposits are critically related to assemblage. This table is taken from a Sprott report into SVM June 2020, to which I have added Mutamba and Corridor's KM assemblage. Note the Sprott table references 'Resource' not 'Reserve' grades (because it flatters SVM), while I have put in Mutamaba's Reserve grade (6% not 3.9%) for reality and a range of gardes for MRQ. VHM is expressed as in-ground %, and in-ground value is calculated before accounting for recoveries which can make a huge difference. Coburn has excellent recoveries due to it's geology, Thunderbird is flattered here because it has poor recoveries. Corridor also has poor recoveries due to the assemblage as per the recent met work.


Min Sands is so complex once the processing, met and min quality etc is delved into that simplified broad brush comps like the table above are often misleading. Whats very clear though I hope is that THM% grade is almost irrelevant when comparing apples with oranges. Pre-recovery losses, SVM's 1% Rutile without any by-product credits has an in-ground value of $12.20 vs Mutamba $10.78.

MRQ is a bit different, calculated using a mix Resource grade (Rt and Zr) and product content in HMC as per recent met work because of the large number of various mineral that do or don;t report to the Ilm or Ti-Mag streams. MRQ's in-ground value includes an assumption of Va-Ti-Mag credits at $90/t and is obviously above the recovered in-ground value after recoveries and applying a product discount for selling a non-mag concentrate instead of finished premium products (ie lower prices).

SVM will produce a single premium rutile product with possibly little losses recovery from the resource grade. SVM at 1% THM has roughly double the value of Corridor ore at 6% THM. Not sure I can be any clearer. Punt min sand exploration stocks by all means, but to not care about understanding what you're punting is a recipe for disaster imo...