ASX-listed tin developer Elementos demonstrates in a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on its Oropesa tin project, in Spain, the viability of a vertically integrated mine-to-metal smelting operation.

The company also published a maiden ore reserve estimate for the project, comprising 15.9-million tonnes grading 0.36% tin.

The DFS envisions a 1.4-million-tonne-a-year openpit mining operation producing an average 3 405 t/y of contained tin, as tin ingot, for the European market over a 12-year mine life.

The capital cost of the project is estimated at €149-million, or $156-million, or A$260-million, while its pre-tax net present value (NPV) totals A$270-million. The DFS confirms an internal rate of return (IRR) on the project of 26% and a payback period of 2.7 years, based on a London Metals Exchange tin price of $30 000/t over the life of the mine.

Based on the spot tin price of $38 575/t, the DFS confirms an NPV for the project of A$587-million, an IRR of 42% and a payback period of 1.7 years.

The life-of-mine earnings potential is A$996-million, in the $30 000/t scenario.

“We have found the DFS to be of great substance, prudently conservative and comprehensive,” says Elementos chairperson Andy Greig.

While the DFS had taken longer than planned, the board made a conscious decision that the quality and completion of the DFS and its alignment with permitting activities was more important than hitting an arbitrary date.

“The board confirms the DFS well defines the project and encompasses the current flow sheet, as well as updates the cost base from the scoping study that was completed in 2022. The DFS forms an excellent basis on which to progress the project to offtake, financing and a final investment decision,” Greig states.

Although the capital cost is higher in the DFS than in the scoping study, Greig says the project had to have its cost base updated by three years in a time of high-cost growth, but that it is now much better defined and based on current pricing and market dynamics.

“Embracing this increased capital cost, and still delivering an improved NPV and payback, causes us to conclude we have a robust and economically excellent project, which will be Europe’s first mine-to-metal vertically integrated tin project,” Greig says.

Elementos has submitted its primary licence applications to the Andalucian regulators and now waits for timely approvals.