IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
NUNAVUT MINING SYMPOSIUM
Iqaluit, April 19, 2012
Overview of the Izok Corridor Project
charlotte.mougeot@mmg.com
Members of the Minmetals Resources Limited group of companies (HKEx:1208)
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Overview
 MMG : a newcomer in Canada: Zinc Strategy
 Project History
 Major decisions made in 2010 and 2011
 2012 Major Tasks
 Overview of the Izok Corridor Project
 High Lake
 Izok
 All season Road
 Port and Shipping
MMG OPERATING MINES
Century (Queensland, Australia)
 Australia’s largest open pit zinc mine.
Golden Grove (Western Australia)
 An underground mine that produces zinc,
copper, and lead and precious metals
concentrates.
Sepon (Lao PDR)
 A gold and copper operation that produces
copper cathode and gold dore.
Rosebery (Tasmania, Australia)
 An underground mine that produces zinc,
copper, lead concentrates, and gold dore.
MMG Zinc Strategy
MMG wants to grow its zinc business based on strong price fundamentals:
 Investigations into existing and potential operations

knowledge of supply and demand in China
• Century Mine 500 t zinc metal in
concentrate shutting down in 2016
MMG Copper & Zinc Metal Production
1,000
Current Zn
Planned Zn
Potential Zn
Current Cu
Potential Cu
Anvil
900
• 40% of Izok Corridor total revenue
comes form copper that aligns with
Anvil copper mine
kt metal in concentrate
• Dugald River to replace half of the
zinc production lost from Century
800
700
600
Golden
Grove
500
400
Slave
300
Century
200
Dugald
100
Rosebery
0
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Year
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
MMG Zinc Strategy
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Selected Option for Feasibility Study
 Zinc and Copper Concentrate from both Izok and High Lake as the base
business case: both needed for an economic project
 One plant only for both mines: Mine and Mill at Izok, tailings at Izok
 Satellite Mine at High Lake, crusher only no plant
 Port at Grays Bays, storage shed, fuel storage and camp
 All-weather Road – from Grays Bay to High Lake and Izok sites : 350 km
 Transport concentrate by truck from Izok to Grays Bay. Concentrate from
both High Lake and Izok ore
 Trucks pick up crushed High Lake Ore on the way back south and bring to Izok
for processing
 Ships at the port from early to mid August to October only
 NO year round shipping
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Project History
DISCOVERY
• High Lake
• Kennarctic Explorations discovered High Lake in the mid 1950 by airborne
reconnaissance; followed by drilling
• Dormant until 1991; Kennecott performed 2 years of further exploration
• Izok
• Texasgulf Sulphur (Texasgulf) discovered Izok in the early 1970’s through
geophysical survey and drilling
• Acquired by Falconbridge in 1985, but no more work carried out until 1993
when it was acquired by Minnova (renamed Metall Mining Corp, then Inmet)
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Project History
OWNERSHIP since 2000
Wolfden Resources
• 2001- acquires High Lake from Kennecott Canada Inc.
• 2006- acquires Izok from Inmet Mining Corp.
Zinifex
• 2007 -acquires Wolfden Resources
• Merged with Oxiana in 2008 to form OZ minerals
MMG
• Subsidiary of China Minmetals
• 2009 -Acquired OZ Mineral Assets except for Prominent Hill
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Project History
STUDIES
•
1994 Izok - Feasibility Study by Bechtel/CESL. Port near Kuglutuk
•
1996 Izok - Feasibility Study (Luzok Project) by Bechtel. Process ore at Lupin
•
2001 Update 1994 Izok Feasibility Study by Bechtel/CESL; port at Bathurst
•
2005 High Lake & Ulu - Prefeasibility Study by Wardrop. Port at Grays Bay
•
2006 Preliminary Economic Assessment of High Lake by Wardrop
•
2006 Preliminary Economic Assessment of Izok by Wardrop
•
2008 Izok Prefeasibility Study by Hatch; Port at Grays Bay
•
2010 Izok Prefeasibility Study by AMEC; Port at Bathurst Inlet
•
2011 Izok/High Lake Prefeasibility Study by SNC; Port at Grays Bay
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
2011 What did we do?
• Assessed all assets-sale of Ulu and
Lupin to Elgin Mining in July 2011
• Commitment to continue exploration
in other Nunavut properties
• Transportation Options Review
• PFS Completed
• MMG Kugluktuk Office and
Sponsorship Programs
• Built a Core Team in Canada:
engineering, consultation,
environmental, H&S in addition to the
geology team.
• Re-Engagement with NIRB
• 2012 Programs: baseline, geotech,
metallurgy, FS
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Transportation Study
MMG reviewed all the
transportation options for
combing the High Lake and
Izok resources:
 27 different alternatives,
from slurry pipeline, truck
to rail,
3 ports and
numerous winter road
options
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IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Feasibility Study – Key Milestones
•
Start Feasibility Study
Q1 2012
•
Initiate Process with NWB and NIRB
Q2 2012
•
Commence Field Activities and consultation
Q2 2012
•
Complete Feasibility Study
Q1 2013
•
Investment Approval Request (IAR)
Q2 2013
•
Submit Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Q2/Q3 2013
•
Start EPCM Phase of Work
Q3 2013
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Proposed Schedule – best case scenario in a perfect world…
 Potential construction start
Q3 2015
 Potential first ore processed
Q1 2018
 Potential first concentrate shipped
August 2018
 Mine Life (Izok)
12 years
 Metal Production
Zn 2,038 kt
Cu 554 kt
Pb 135 kt
Ag 33.3 Moz
Au 201 koz
(approx. 180 kt pa)
(approx. 50 kt pa)
(approx. 12 kt pa)
(approx 2.8 Moz pa)
(approx 17 koz pa)
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
High Lake Camp
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
High Lake Minesite and Infrastructure
HIGH LAKE MINE
• Two Open Pits
– 3 Mt ore mined over 6 years
– Moderate grade sulphide ore, rich in zinc, with low copper and
neglible lead grades
• One Underground Mine
– 4 Mt ore mined over 9 years
– Lower grade than open pit, moderate zinc and copper grades
and negligible lead
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
High Lake Minesite and Infrastructure
• Primary and possibly secondary
crushing
• Maintenance facilities
• Warehouse and Laydown Areas
• Fuel storage
• Explosives storage
• Ventilation fans
• Dewatering infrastructure
• Electric power distribution
infrastructure
• Shops, offices, warehouse, and camp
connected by utilidors
• Diesel power generation – 7 MW
• Airstrip – compatible with Dash 8
aircraft or similar, located at Sand
Lake, 10 km north of High Lake
• Water supply
• Water Treatment Plant and water
holding pond
• Communications
• Explosives storage
• Fuel storage
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Izok Mine Site
HAM LAKE EXPLORATION CAMP NEAR IZOK LAKE
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Izok Mine Site – Getting to the Deposit- Summary
•
The deposit is under Izok Lake. Izok Lake
needs to be drained and a diversion
channel built to maintain flow between
Iznogoudh and Itchen Lakes
•
Operation and closure : no negative effect
on water quality and quantity of Iznogoudh
and Itchen Lakes.
•
The Izok Plant will process crushed ore
trucked in from High Lake and ore from
Izok
•
Tailings from both High Lake and Izok
concentrate milling, dry stack is the
prefered concept
•
Mine Waste PAG and NAG from Izok
•
Camp, airstrip, roads, power generation,
shops, explosive storage, fuel storage and
other.
>8
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Izok Mine Site
Izok Mine
•
1 Open Pit, mined in 3 main phases
– 13 Mt ore mined over 10 years
– High grade sulphide ore, rich in zinc, with moderate copper and lead
grades
•
1 Underground Mine
– 1 Mt ore mined over 4 years
– Lower grade than open pit, moderate zinc and copper grades and
negligible lead
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Izok Mine Site, Processing, and Infrastructure
IZOK MINING ISOMETRIC
Izok Open Pit
Mine
Existing Lake
Shore
Inukshuk
Underground
Mine
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Road – all weather, 350km
•
350 km all-weather access road from
Izok to Grays Bay
•
Concentrate Haul from Izok to Grays Bay
and transfer to storage shed
•
On the way back south, pick up crushed
ore at High Lake and haul to Izok for
processing
•
14 km to extend to Tibbett-Contwoyto
ice road
•
Majority of resupply in summer via Grays
Bay Port: fuel and supplies
•
Proposed horizontal alignment based
on air photo interpretation, contour data,
and 3 seasons of preliminary field
reconnaissance
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Road
VEHICLES
Concentrate and Ore Hauling
Sea Container Transport
Fuel Resupply
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Road
ROAD TRAFFIC- PFS
• Assumed 330 days per year operation (weather, caribou)
• Concentrate and Ore Movement (120 tonne capacity)
– 11 truck-trips per day at 18 hours each round trip
• Diesel -tankers (60 tonnes capacity)
– 3 truck-trips per day
• Containers and Equipment-3 container tractor-trailers
– 3 truck-trips per day
•
Convoys of two to five trucks being studied
-PFS
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Port
PORT SELECTION CRITERIA
•
Maximum ice-free shipping window
•
Greatest certainty of ice-free shipping
window
Shortest distance to High Lake and
•
Izok Lake
•
Deep water shipping routes
•
Deep water dock
•
Sufficient land for port
infrastructure
•
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Beach-head barge landing area
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Port Infrastructure
• Concentrate shed with capacity to store 10 months worth of
concentrate production
• 50 million litres diesel storage – steel tanks within bunds
• Dock and ship loader facility to accommodate 50,000 DWT bulk carrier
ships-Sheet-pile gravity-based structure – as used in most north
Canadian ports
• Lay down area for 2,500 containers (20 ft) and mixed cargo
• Camp, administration, and maintenance facilities
• Diesel power generation
• Sea-water desalination plan
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Port Operation
• Concentrate trucked year round from Izok Mine to Port
• Three month shipping window (early to mid August to October) 4 to 6 ships, 3
trips each
• Alternative container supply route - barge via Mackenzie River
•EXAMPLE OF SHIP
LOADER AND
CONCENTRATE SHED
(Voiseys Bay)
IZOK CORRIDOR PROJECT
Shipping
PROPOSED SHIPPING ROUTES
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