ASX-listed aspiring West Africa bauxite developer, Lindian Resources, has received the Guinea Ministry of Mines’ approval to acquire a 61 per cent stake in the strategic Woula bauxite project. The company sees Woula as a possible near-term entree to production given the Woula bauxite resource’s direct shipping ore potential and the project’s close proximity to the mature Guinea bauxite industry’s transport and export infrastructure.
Terms of the cash-and-scrip Woula transaction to the value of about $400,000 also allow Lindian to increase its interest to 75 per cent by sole funding a JORC-compliant scoping study or feasibility study on the project within 18 months. The Perth-based company says it aims to start work on either the scoping study or feasibility study during the March quarter next year.
Woula, which hosts a modest inferred mineral resource of 19 million tonnes of ore going 41.7 per cent aluminium oxide, sits just 10 kilometres from an existing haul road linking the neighbouring Dabiss mining operation to the Katougouma bauxite export terminal. They are both owned and operated by the largely Chinese-owned SMB, with Katougouma located approximately 50km from Woula, meaning a total trucking distance for Lindian of 60km from Woula to the export terminal.
According to Lindian, the Woula project has all the makings of a low CAPEX pathway to early development due to its proximity to existing road and port infrastructure. To that end, it intends evaluating various infrastructure and production options, which in turn will form the basis of the upcoming scoping or feasibility studies.
The company points out the Guinean Government has a strict infrastructure-sharing policy in place to encourage companies to develop resources projects in the country. For instance, the Kamsar railway is currently shared by three mining operations including large producer CBG, a joint venture that includes the Government, Rio Tinto/Alcan and Alcoa.
Lindian says it will initiate commercial discussions with the relevant infrastructure owners as it looks to gain access rights to the roads and ports required for a proposed – one million tonnes of direct shipping ore, or “DSO” per annum – Woula bauxite production operation.
Lindian Resources Chairman, Asimwe Kabunga said: “The Woula project is important strategically to Lindian’s bauxite assets in Guinea, and our broader vision and ambitions, which is to bring into production the larger, multi-generational bauxite assets, the very high-grade conglomerate bauxite Gaoual project and the world-class Lelouma project.”
Woula has been touted as underpinning the company’s incremental growth and development strategy, which involves getting a leg-up into bauxite production in Guinea via a low CAPEX mine as it assesses the potential development alternatives in relation to the two elephants in the room – its giant Lelouma and Gaoual bauxite projects.
Lelouma’s near-surface resource currently stands at a mammoth 900 million tonnes of ore grading 45 per cent aluminium oxide including a higher-grade portion of 398 million tonnes at 48.1 per cent aluminium oxide.
Lindian recently unveiled a maiden indicated resource estimate for Gaoual of 101.5 million tonnes of ore at 49.8 per cent aluminium oxide and 11.5 per cent silica including a higher-grade portion of 84 million tonnes at 51.2 per cent aluminium oxide and 11 per cent silica.
Gaoual, in which the company has a right to earn a 75 per cent interest, lies approximately 40km west of 75 per cent owned Lelouma. Both are roughly 100km-140km east of Woula and also within cooee of existing road, rail and shipping infrastructure.
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