Extractive Industries

NAE orders revised scoping study on Lochinvar

New Age Exploration Ltd (NAE) said it had commissioned a new study of its 100% owned Lochinvar coking coal project which had drawn fresh interest from investors.

Potential: of the study will focus on coal price assumptions and capital and operating cost structure (NAE)

LOCHINVAR

The project comprises three adjacent exploration and conditional underground mining licences of Lochinvar, Lochinvar North and Lochinvar South on the border of England and Scotland.

SCOPING STUDY

The Australian company has engaged Palaris Australia to provide a further update to its initial scoping study.

Palaris conducted the first study in 2014, followed by a second in 2017 “to revise the project operating and capital cost structure as well as the underlying macroeconomic assumptions”.

“In an environment of elevated metallurgical coal prices and where global demand for metallurgical coal remains strong, NAE are pleased to announce that Palaris has been commissioned to undertake a further update to the scoping study,” said NAE in a statement today.

“The update will focus on the areas of coal price assumptions, capital and operating cost structure and is expected to take approximately six weeks to complete.”

NAE previously reported a nil valuation for its Lochinvar project in its June 2021 annual report.

The company expects to review the valuation within the next six to nine months.

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

“In recent months, NAE has received expressions of interest in the Lochinvar project from a range of potential investors, as the economic outlook for metallurgical coal continues to improve,” added executive director Joshua Wellisch.

“NAE remains confident that new technologies that may replace metallurgical coal in the steel sector may not come online for many decades.”

POLITICAL CHANGE

The company added that it was “cautiously optimistic” that geopolitical events, combined with the UK’s recent change in government leadership, would lead to an improved regulatory environment for metallurgical coal projects such as Lochinvar.

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