Vancouver-based Colonial Coal International (TSX-V: CAD) has received the preliminary economic assessment for its 100% owned Gordon Creek metallurgical coal project located about 30 km south of Tumbler Ridge. Prepared by Stantec Consulting Services, the PEA demonstrates positive economics.
The Gordon Creek project has an after tax and royalty net present value of $690.5 million with a 7.5% discount rate. The internal rate of return will be 24.4% based on a price of $164.8 per tonne coking coal and a premium pulverized coal injection (PCI) price of $140.5 per tonne.
The project has a pre-production capex of $300 million with additional sustaining capital of $406.0 million over the life of the mine. When the project reaches commercial production, it will produce an average of 1.9 million tonnes of clean coal annually. The payback period is less than three years.
Colonial says the PEA is based on an underground mine plan that would recover 111.6 million run-of-mine tonnes with a yield of 51% to produce 57.4 million tonnes of clean coal over a 30-year life for the mine. The property contains an inferred resource of 298.0 million tonnes.