Consolidated Lithium Metals (TSXV: CLM) has released an updated preliminary economic assessment for its Kwyjibo rare earth oxide project in Québec, sharply improving the economics of a deposit the company has redesigned to shrink its surface footprint.
The study pegs the after tax net present value at C$1.4 billion using an 8% discount rate, with an after-tax internal rate of return of 35.4% and payback in two years.
The economics rest on a rare earth basket price of C$79.75 per kilogram, drawn from Adamas Intelligence’s 2031 forecast and nearly double the assumption behind the project’s 2018 study, against operating costs of C$17.50 per kilogram.
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“As North America works to establish strategic rare earth stockpiles to strengthen domestic supply chains, Kwyjibo is well positioned to contribute to this objective. The Project combines a high-grade deposit, a simplified processing flowsheet, existing hydroelectric infrastructure, and an engineering approach focused on minimizing the long-term surface footprint, supporting a reliable source of rare earth oxides from a compact 10-year operation,” commented CEO Richard Quesnel.
Kwyjibo would run as a small underground mine feeding 387,000 tonnes of ore a year through an offsite processing complex, producing roughly 10,000 tonnes of rare earth oxides annually over a 10-year life. Grade averages 3.35% total rare earth oxides at 75% recovery across the mine life.
Development capital is estimated at C$881 million, with a further C$25.2 million in sustaining spending and C$8 million earmarked for closure costs.
Five critical oxides, comprising of dysprosium, terbium, neodymium, praseodymium and yttrium, account for 91% of projected revenue, an unusually heavy-weighted profile for a hard-rock project. The measured and indicated resource stands at 8.48 million tonnes grading 2.44% total rare earth oxides, with another 1.83 million tonnes inferred at 3.27%.
The mine site now covers 2.67 hectares, roughly three soccer fields, with the crusher, concentrator, hydrometallurgical plant and tailings all shifted to a complex about 80 km south near Québec’s hydroelectric grid.
That work speaks to the community concerns that have shadowed Kwyjibo, and the company has flagged consultation with the Innu of Takuaikan Uashat mak Mani-utenam, the Innu of Ekuanitshit and communities across the MRC de Minganie as a priority alongside further metallurgical studies, a feasibility study and environmental permitting.
Consolidated Lithium Metals last traded at $0.06 on the TSX Venture.
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