chrome news

Lionore approves 60,000-tonne chrome mine at Nkomati
09:14, Monday, 10 July 2006

Sydney - Monday - July 10: (RWE Aust Business News) - Lionore
Mining International Ltd (ASX:LIM) and African Rainbow Minerals Ltd,
co-owners of the Nkomati nickel mine in South Africa, have announced the
approval of a 60,000 tonne per month chrome ore mining and processing
operation.
A feasibility study which was completed last month investigated
the viability of a low cost mining and processing operation to exploit
the oxidized massive chromitite resource.
This resource overlies the nickel mineralization and forms part
of the planned Pit 3 pre-strip requirements for the future nickel
exploitation of the large disseminated nickel sulphide orebodies.
A bankable feasibility study on this expansion phase will be
completed later in the year.
During the past year, Nkomati has mined and produced
approximately 300,000 tonnes of lumpy and chip chrome ore from the
exposed resource in Pit 3. This product has been successfully trialled at
the nearby Assmang Machadadorp Smelter in the production of charge
chrome.
The results of the feasibility study indicate an extremely robust
project with a low capital requirement of $US2.2 million which will be
funded by internal cash flow from Nkomati.
The project is expected to deliver an Internal Rate of Return
(IRR) in excess of 200 per cent and, based on the current reserve
statement, will operate for at least five years.
Construction will commence in the third quarter of 2006 with an
anticipated rapid production ramp-up of two quarters to full production
levels, expected in first quarter of 2007.
This ramp-up includes the mining, crushing and screening of run
of mine chromite ore to produce a saleable product with a chrome content
of 38 per cent and a chrome to iron ratio of approximately 1.65:1.
Shares of Lionore last traded at $7.72.