The canadian Suitable Resources presented the results of a new Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Ayawilca zinc project in Pasco. According to information shared by Rumbo Minero, the project could have an underground future with access to a ramp with a processing plant of 8,500 tons per day.
Of these results, the president and CEO of Tinka, Graham Carman, highlighted the outstanding project that is Ayawilca. He specified that Ayawilca is an outstanding zinc project located in a mining-friendly jurisdiction.
“It is well positioned to be one of the next major zinc development projects around the world. This would place Pasco as one of the regions that would host one of the most important zinc deposits, ”the report states.
The evaluation considers a useful life of 14.4 years; and for the purpose of the report, production will begin in 2025 after 18 months of construction and commissioning. This initial mine plan is based on extracting a total of 43.5 million tons grading 5.56% Zn, 14.5 g / t silver and 0.20% lead over the life of the mine. .
The results of this PEA constitute progress in performance compared to the 2019 PEA. Highlights include an initial capex of US $ 264 million with an after-tax IRR of 31.9% (pre-tax IRR of 42, 6%).
Said expenses include US $ 83.5 million for the processing plant; US $ 34 million for infrastructure; also US $ 47.2 million for mine equipment and underground pre-production development; US $ 9.1 million for off-site infrastructure; and US $ 3.6 million for direct costs of a start-up filtered tailings storage facility.
Ayawilca: mining area with future potential
The project is located in a major mining region, near a paved highway under construction, some 200 kilometers from a functioning zinc refinery and a port.
“The updated PEA demonstrates that Ayawilca has the potential to be the largest primary zinc producer in South America. There are still more opportunities to add more value at Ayawilca, including seeking to improve zinc recoveries (currently 92%) to a zinc concentrate and silver recovery to a silver-lead concentrate (currently 45%), and also incorporate a tin circuit into the plan, ”said Graham Carman.
In other words, the average annual production is estimated at approximately 155,000 tons of zinc in concentrate per year, which would make Ayawilca the largest primary zinc producer in South America and one of the world’s top ten zinc producers.
.
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
