By Kari Williamson
Global Tungsten & Powders Corp, which is part of the Plansee Group, is one of the largest tungsten processors outside of China and together with DRAG envisage a long and successful future after the signing of the five year tungsten off-take agreement.
The produced tungsten concentrate will be delivered to the chemical treatment plant of Global Tungsten in Towanda, Pennsylvania, USA. Logistics for all concentrates will be undertaken by Ocean Partners.
To fund the capital ramp-up phase of the Wolfram Camp Mine, GTP granted Deutsche Rohstoff AG a loan of US$6.15 million with exceptional terms and low interest rates.
Dr. Titus Gebel, Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Rohstoff AG, says: “We are pleased that with Global Tungsten as one of the major international tungsten processors is interested in a long-term collaboration with us. The extraordinary professional collaboration and financial support, which is provided to us by GTP, underlines the willingness of both sides to build a successful partnership. ”
Australian JORC Standard tungsten resource totals 1.42 million tonnes of ore with average grades of 0.60% WO3 (tungsten trioxide) and 0.12% Mo (molybdenum). Within this resource a mineable reserve of 730,000 tons is scheduled for mine production from the initial open pit with an estimated head grade of 0.77% WO3 and 0.056% Mo.
Based on the current reserves, this provides a mine life through until 2015 and with an extensive portfolio of tenements in the area, the company believes that through dedicated exploration, the resource inventory will continue to grow.
Assuming today’s prices, concentrate sales amount to approximately AU$124 million in the next four years. The current price of tungsten and molybdenum concentrates are 42% above the level at which production is profitable at Wolfram Camp.
