TORONTO, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ - IC Potash Corp. ("IC
Potash" or the "Company") (TSXV: ICP; OTCQX:ICPTF) is filing
today on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) a Canadian National Instrument
43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment Technical Report
of the Company's 100 % - owned Ochoa Sulphate of Potash ("SOP")
Project (the "Preliminary Economic Assessment" or "PEA"). The
project is located in south east New Mexico. The PEA report,
entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Polyhalite Resources and
Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Ochoa Project was
prepared by Gustavson Associates of Lakewood, Colorado ("Gustavson").
Other corporate update information:
- Bulk sampling program commenced;
- Pre-feasibility study to commence imminently;
- Environmental work to commence in first quarter; and
- Stock options awarded.
The bulk sampling program has commenced. Metallurgical testing
and optimization will commence this January using the potash
resource previously obtained. Testing will include the
optimization of calcination, leaching, solar evaporation and
crystallization procedures. Testing will be carried out by
Hazen Research, Inc. of Golden
Colorado. Hazen has completed over 10,000 projects for
clients, including pilot and demonstration plants and has expertise
in industrial minerals processing, as well as in mineral
hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, inorganic chemicals, and
commercial metals.
"The completion of the report, which was announced on
January 5 of this year, is a major
achievement for IC Potash," Mr. Sidney
Himmel, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the
Company, stated. "We are finalizing the assembly of the team
to prepare the Pre-Feasibility Study. It is estimated that
this study will require nine months to complete at an estimated
cost of $3 million. Our mission
is to develop a long-life, low cost mine to produce SOP, the
premium quality potash of the world. We continue to move
rapidly in that direction. The recommendations of the PEA
include the completion of a pre-feasibility study, the commencement
of environmental permitting work, and the obtaining of a sufficient
bulk sample for metallurgical testing and process
optimization. We are moving rapidly in all these directions
with the goal of being one of the first junior companies to put a
potash mine into production. And in this case it is based on
SOP, the world's quality potash which is sold at a premium
price".
As previously reported, the PEA projects a base case production
level of 660,000 tons per year of SOP, a mine life of 40 years and
a capital cost of $662 million.
Operating cost is projected to be $164 per ton. All dollars are in
United States currency.
Summary data for the project are:
- Internal rate of Return of 25% on a pre-tax basis based on a
100% equity case;
- Net Present Value of US $1.4
billion using a pre-tax discount rate of 10% and no
debt;
- Net Present Value of US$2.1
billion using a pre-tax discount rate of 8% and no
debt;
- Operating production cost of US$164 per ton of SOP;
- Capital cost of $662
million which includes a general contingency
of $97 million and
engineering and procurement and management costs
of $48 million;
- Measured mineral resource of 239,000,000 tons at a grade
of 82.7% polyhalite equivalent to 23.4% Sulphate of Potash,
and indicated resource of 461,000,000 tons at a grade of 82.4%
polyhalite equivalent to 23.4 % Sulphate of Potash, each of
which with a cut-off thickness of 5 feet.
- Underground mining at a rate sufficient to produce 3.29 million
tons of ore per year;
- Average mining extraction rate of 85%;
- Average metallurgical recovery of 85%
- Mine life of 40 years;
- The SOP sales price forecasts were provided by CRU, formerly
known as British Sulphur Consultants. SOP prices for 2015
were forecast at $508 per
short ton and subsequently varied upwards and downwards for
projected macroeconomic trends and anticipated changes in SOP
supply and demand. For 2025 and thereafter a price of
$717 per short ton is used in the
projections.
- While the project has the potential to produce SOP and other
fertilizer minerals such as Magnesium Sulphate, the study included
only SOP as this fertilizer mineral is readily marketable in a very
robust market.
The PEA contains information on resource, proposed mining
methods, mineral processing, hydrology, and entry into the Sulphate
of Potash markets.
All scientific and technical disclosures in this press
release have been prepared under the supervision of William J. Crowl, a consultant to IC Potash who
is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument
43-101. The Qualified Persons in respect of the Preliminary
Economic Assessment were William J.
Crowl, R.G., Donald E. Hulse, P.E., Terre A. Lane, MAusIMM, Deepak Malhotra, MAusIMM.
The PEA is preliminary in nature. Although the PEA
includes measured and indicated mineral resources, it also includes
inferred mineral resources which are considered too speculative
geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them
that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves.
There is no certainty that the projections in the PEA will be
realized.
Awarding of Stock Options:
The Company granted on January 13,
2011, at a board meeting held after close of business,
700,000 options to acquire common shares of the Company (the
"Options") pursuant to the stock option plan of the Company and
subject to regulatory approval. The Options were granted to
an officer and to a consultant to the Company. The Options
expire on January 13, 2016 and have
an exercise price of $1.42, the
closing price of the stock on the TSXV prior to the
grant.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information set forth in this news release may contain
forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and
unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements
are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which
are beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited
to, risks associated with mineral exploration and mining
activities, the impact of general economic conditions, industry
conditions, dependence upon regulatory approvals, and the
uncertainty of obtaining additional financing. Readers are
cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such
information, although considered reasonable at the time of
preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance
should not be placed on forward-looking statements.
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION
SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE
TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR
ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
About IC Potash
IC Potash intends to become a primary producer of Sulphate of
Potash ("SOP") by mining its 100%-owned potash Ochoa property in
New Mexico. SOP is a non-chloride
based potash fertilizer that sells at a substantial premium over
the price of Muriate of Potash ("MOP"), the most widely used
fertilizer in the world. Typically SOP sells at a premium of 50% to
MOP. ICP is focused on being the lowest cost producer of SOP in the
world. The SOP market is six million tonnes per year. SOP is
a significant fertilizer in the fruit, vegetable, tobacco, potato,
and horticultural industries, and for agriculture in saline and dry
soils and soils in which there is much agriculture with varieties
of crops. Much of the agricultural soil in China, India,
and the United States is
salty. ICP's Ochoa property consists of over 100,000 acres of
federal subsurface potassium prospecting permits and State of New
Mexico Potassium mining leases.
SOURCE IC Potash Corp.
Copyright . 17 PR Newswire
