Centaurus Metals (ASX: CTM) has appointed leading global engineering group Ausenco as Lead Engineer for the completion and delivery of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) on its flagship 100%‐owned Jaguar Nickel Sulphide Project in northern Brazil.
The DFS is targeted for completion by the end of 2022. The appointment, which follows a thorough evaluation and competitive tender process undertaken by the company, marks another important step towards the development of the Jaguar Project.
Ausenco is an Australian company with a long and successful history in the minerals and mining sector providing processing solutions, design engineering and project execution services globally. It boasts strong experience in the processing methods planned for Jaguar Project as well as project studies and construction experience in South America through its offices in Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Santiago (Chile) and Lima (Peru).
Ausenco has assembled a study team with both strong technical skills and detailed local knowledge of construction in Brazil, and importantly, the Carajás Mineral Province. Its experience with regard to study and project delivery into Brazil includes the Araguaia Nickel Project (Horizonte Minerals) Feasibility Study, the Serrote Copper Project (Appian) Feasibility Study and Basic Engineering, the Santa Luz Gold Project (Equinox Gold) Feasibility Study and Detailed Design and the Aurizona Gold Project (Equinox Gold) expansion and restart.
Elsewhere in the world, Ausenco has built a number of successful flotation concentrators including EPCM delivery of the massive Mina Justa Copper Project in Peru and the EPC delivery of the Carrapateena Copper‐Gold Project in Australia.
Ausenco’s study and project delivery work for complex base metal hydrometallurgical flowsheets includes the Sepon Copper Project in Laos (pressure oxidation, solvent extraction and electrowinning) and the Mina Justa Copper Project in Peru (vat leach, solvent extraction and electrowinning).
Centaurus Managing Director, Darren Gordon, said Ausenco will provide the majority of study services through its Perth office, with technical and engineering support from its Belo Horizonte office, to ensure that engineering designs conform to Brazilian standards and that capital and operating costs reflect local supply and installation costs.
Ausenco’s key global hydrometallurgical subject matter experts are based in the Perth office.
Mr Gordon said the appointment of the highly respected engineering group marked another important milestone in its development timeline.
“We are very pleased to be partnering with Ausenco to complete the process plant and associated infrastructure components of the Jaguar Nickel Project DFS. Ausenco has a long and respected track record of achievement in project studies and delivery, not only within Australia and Brazil, but also globally.
“The quality of the team Ausenco has been able to commit to the project at a time in our industry when competition for skilled personnel is very tight is, we believe, reflective of the size and quality of the Jaguar Nickel Project, its robust economics and the likelihood that the DFS will result in the Project moving rapidly from the study to the implementation phase.
“Since the Value‐Added (Nickel Sulphate) Scoping Study was released to the market on May 31, 2021, our teams in Brazil and Perth have been working diligently to expand the Mineral Resource and continue the comprehensive metallurgical testwork programmes to provide the detailed information required to underpin a Definitive Feasibility Study. We now look forward to working with Ausenco to deliver the DFS by the end of 2022.”
For further information please visit: https://www.centaurus.com.au
