Canyon Resources Limited released the updated Definitive Feasibility Study (?DFS?) for the Company?s flagship Minim Martap Bauxite Project(?Minim Martap? or ?the Project?), which confirms the Project?s strong economics and outlines a pathway for the phased development of what is planned to be a major new bauxite producer. The release of the DFS coincides with an updated Mineral Resource and results of an Ore Reserve Update for the Project.
The Ore Reserve estimate has been increased by one third to 144Mt of DSO grade ore at 51.2% Al2O3 and 1.7% SiO2, and which will underpin the long-term future of Minim Martap. Located in Cameroon, Minim Martap will be executed as a capital-efficient, staged development by Canyon, with first ore production planned for First Quarter CY2026 and first shipment to take place in 1H CY2026. Canyon has commenced early works for the Project, including the construction of the Inland Rail Facility (IRF) that will be used to transfer ore from road to rail, the upgrade of the haul road to transfer ore to the IRF and the procurement of long lead items such as locomotives for rail haul.
RESOURCE AND RESERVE UPGRADE: The Ore Reserve estimation, conducted for the Minim Martap Deposit, adheres to the guidelines set by the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Ore Reserves (JORC Code, 2012). Production Target: The current 20-year mine plan and production schedule is based solely on the Proved Ore Reserve (JORC Code, 2012). The Life of Mine Plan (LOMP) provides a schedule of tonnes and grade for ore and waste over time for use in mining cost estimation and financial modelling.
The LOMP only includes Proved and Probable Ore Reserves as a source of DSO material. Minim Martap can support elevated grades targeting 52% Al203 for the initial 3-year start-up period, before ramping up to 10 Million Wet Metric Tonnes/Annum of DSO product. The operation will commence at the Danielle Plateau to minimise the required start-up time and capital before transitioning to Beatrice and Raymonde later in the mine life to effectively manage the SiO2 in the product.
SiO2 is maintained below 2% total SiO2 for the life of the mine. The start-up period of the mine, due to low rail capacity, will require low machine utilisation from the mining fleet and therefore offer reasonable flexibility and redundancy early in the mine life. The bauxite recovered from the surface mining process does not require any additional processing.
The surface miner crushes the ore to the required size as a part of the mining process and this ore is then exported as DSO. Mining method selected and other mining assumptions: The selected mining method for the Minim Martap Deposit is the use of surface miners, supported by front-end loaders (FELs) and truck haulage. This method is proven, efficient, and cost-effective for bauxite extraction, with successful use in similar areas like Guinea.
Run-of-Mine (ROM) ore will be transported to ROM pads and then off-site via an existing rail line. Waste material will largely be backfilled into the mined-out voids to support progressive rehabilitation, with minimal initial pre-stripping required on each plateau. Cut-off grades were applied to meet a target product specification of 51% Al2O3 and =2% SiO2.
For the Danielle and Raymonde plateaus, Al2O3 cut-offs were necessary to meet the average Al2O3 requirement. However, as these deposits are naturally low in SiO2, no further SiO2 constraints were required beyond the existing resource cut-off of 15% SiO2. In contrast, the Beatrice plateau contains high Al2O3 and did not require any Al2O3 cut-offs.
However, it could not consistently meet the =2% SiO2 threshold without significant losses. As a result, material from Beatrice was permitted to exceed the 2% SiO2 target, provided it remained within the 2.5% low-quality SiO2 limit, with blending during production ensuring compliance with overall product specifications. Ore loss and dilution are applied within the mining models.
The Danielle and Raymonde plateaus experienced limited impact from dilution due to their elevated Al2O3 cut-off; resulting in the application of a 25 cm loss and dilution approach, which aligns with the operational precision of the proposed surface miners. At Beatrice, a 0.7 m loss-only approach was applied to minimise the risk of reintroducing high-SiO2 material through dilution. The following losses were also applied to account for operational constraints: 0.5 m ore loss is applied at the base of the deposit where the orebody comes into direct contact with the underlying clay zone.
0.5 m ore loss is also applied at the top of the deposit where the ore outcrops at surface to account for the stripping of topsoil and the potential contamination of ore by organic material during initial mining activities. Mine to Port Infrastructure: The development and sustaining capital of the project is detailed below. It comprises a mine camp and mine site infrastructure for Camalco personnel, a haul road construction from the ROM pad to IRF, IRF, Doula Port development, and railway rolling stock.
To facilitate the start of this project, Camalco has committed to providing funding for a rail upgrade and will be reimbursed for these upfront funds through offsets against royalties and /or other charges. A working group composed of Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Economy & Planning, Camrail & Camalco is being set up to finalise the form and timing of this reimbursement.
