As North American Tungsten (NTC-V) gets ready to put its Cantung tungsten mine in the Northwest Territories on care and maintenance, the company had some good news about the mine life.
NAT has added to reserves at Cantung, which is located about 300 km northeast of Watson Lake, Yukon, upping the mine life to 2.5 years.
Probable reserves stand at 1.02 million tons grading 1.08% tungsten oxide, or about 1.11 million short ton units (STU), replacing mined ore and increasing it slightly. One short ton unit is equal to 20 lbs. of tungsten.
The reserve estimate is based on NAT’s forecast of a long-term base case price of US$205 per metric tonne unit (MTU), an operating cost of C$152.22 per ton milled and a cutoff grade of 0.8% WO3 for the life of mine. There are also known resources that could one day be minable by open pit, the company says.
NAT admits that Cantung, an 1,100-ton-per-day operation, is a high-cost producer, noting the mine has been an on-again-off-again operation since it first opened in the early 1960s.
Last winter tungsten fell below US$200 per MTU, prompting the company to reconsider operations.
In late June, NAT announced it would put the Cantung mine on care and maintenance, starting Oct. 15, due to increased product inventory and declining prices.
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