Rio Tinto declares maiden Ore Reserve at Jadar
December 09 2020 - 5:31PM
Business Wire
Rio Tinto has today disclosed to the Australian Securities
Exchange (ASX) a maiden Ore Reserve and updated Mineral Resource at
the 100% owned Jadar lithium-borates project in western Serbia.
The Ore Reserve is 16.6 Mt at 1.81% Li2O and 13.4%
B2O3
The Mineral Resource underlying the maiden Ore Reserve has been
updated to incorporate additional drilling which resulted in an
updated geological model. Mineral Resources are reported exclusive
of Ore Reserves.
The Mineral Resource comprises 55.2 Mt of Indicated Resource
at 1.68% Li2O and 17.9% B2O3 with an additional 84.1 Mt of Inferred
Resource at 1.84% Li2O and 12.6% B2O3
The update precedes the release of the project’s ‘Elaborate of
Resources and Reserves’, reporting required under the Serbian
Reporting Code YU53/79. Declaration of resources and reserves is an
important milestone as the project progresses towards the award of
an exploitation license, the precursor to a construction
licence.
Pre-feasibility studies have shown that the Jadar project has
the potential to produce both battery grade lithium carbonate and
boric acid. The deposit is located on the doorstep of the European
Union, one of the fastest growing electric vehicle (EV) markets in
the world, and has the potential to provide lithium products into
the EV value chain for decades. Boric acid is, a key raw material
for advanced glass and fertilizer products and would be integrated
with and complimentary to Rio Tinto’s established position in this
market. The scale and high grade nature of the Jadar mineralisation
provides the potential for a long life operation in the first
quartile of the industry cost curve for both products.
The project under study consists of an underground mine,
sustainable industrial processing and waste facilities as well as
associated infrastructure. Jadar, one of the largest greenfield
lithium projects in development, would be capable of producing
approximately 55 thousand tonnes of battery grade lithium
carbonate, as well as 160 thousand tonnes of boric acid (B2O3
units) and 255 thousand tonnes of sodium sulfate as by-products per
annum. It represents a significant investment for Serbia with both
direct and indirect economic benefits, and would become the
country’s second largest exporter.
At the end of July 2020, the project moved into feasibility
study, with an investment of almost $200 million on a scope that
includes detailed engineering, land acquisition, workforce and
supply preparation for construction, permitting and the early
infrastructure development. The feasibility study is expected to be
complete at the end of 2021 and, if approved, construction could
take up to 4 years.
Copies of the full release to the ASX is available on Rio
Tinto’s website at
riotinto.com/financial-news-performance/resources-and-reserves.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201209006026/en/
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