With costs of CAD$10/tonne, it is then a question of how much revenue can be generated by processing a tonne of ore. Ultramafic nickel deposits always contain a certain amount of nickel that is not recoverable by standard milling flotation circuits, so recoveries are generally much lower than you would see for a low-grade copper or other deposits, so recoveries in the 40-50% range are typical and not a cause for concern.
We have been following the Crawford project so will refer to it as an example, so let’s do the math for that project.
Based on a nickel price of USD$17,000 per tonne, the higher-grade core containing 0.34% nickel at a 50% recovery rate, and average-grade containing 0.26% at a 40% recovery rate, combined with the 90% payability from the roasting process that Dumont's FS is using:The higher-grade ore would deliver CAD$34 per tonne and the lower-grade ore would deliver CAD$23 per tonne. Based on the CAD$10 operating costs, the higher-grade ore will result in an operating margin greater than 65% and the average grade operating margins in excess of 50%. For reference, Dumont’s cash costs in their feasibility study are USD$3.20/lb and has a AISC life of mine of USD$3.80/lb.
