Investment in Syrymbet tin project to total $468 mln, launch set for H2 2029 - SolidcoreSolidcore Resources board of directors has made a final investment decision on the Syrymbet tin-copper project in Kazakhstan, the company said in a statement published by the Astana International Exchange (AIX).“With site preparation complete and basic engineering finalized, the project is ready for full-scale construction. Together with our partner, Lancaster Group, we look forward to bringing Syrymbet into production in H2 2029 and becoming a major player in the global tin market,” CEO Vitaly Nesis is quoted as saying.The start-up project CAPEX is estimated at $468 million with approximately 60% to be spent locally. Commissioning and first production are scheduled for H2 2029 and a full operational ramp-up in 2030.The project will be financed through a combination of bank loans and cash contributions from Solidcore and Lancaster Group in proportion to their shareholdings. Solidcore’s share in the project is 55%.The current mine plan is based solely on the Central open pit with ore reserves in accordance with the JORC Code in 2026 of 24.2 million tonnes of primary ore with an average grade of 0.42% Sn (tin) and 0.15% Cu (copper), containing 101,000 tonnes of tin and 36,000 tonnes of copper.According to the current plan, Syrymbet will be developed as a low-risk, conventional open-pit operation with a 10-year mine life (2029-2038) and a 2.5 million tonnes per annum processing plant combining gravity separation of tin and copper flotation.The facility will produce tin concentrate grading approximately 50% Sn and copper concentrate grading approximately 20% Cu for direct sale to third-party offtakers. Tin recovery to concentrate is expected to be 53-55% and copper recovery – 79%.Life-of-mine production is estimated at 53,000 tonnes of tin and 29,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate, or approximately 6,000 tonnes of tin and 4,000 tonnes of copper per year.Construction of the main facilities is scheduled for the third quarter of 2026, with open-pit mining to begin in the third quarter of 2027.Syrymbet is Central Asia's largest undeveloped tin deposit. JORC resources are estimated at 492,400 tonnes of tin at 0.4% grade and 91,400 tonnes of copper at 0.07% grade (or a combined 5.9 million ounces of gold equivalent).Following the divestiture of its Russian assets, Solidcore is now the second-largest gold producer in Kazakhstan. The company owns and operates the gold mine Bakyrchik in the Abay region and the Varvara and Komar mines in the Kostanay region. The company’s largest shareholder is a consortium of Omani investors led by the state-owned Mercury Investments International Fund, which holds a 41.3% stake.Lancaster Group is a Kazakh diversified holding company founded in 2003 and active in industrial infrastructure, oil and gas services, subsoil use and mining, pharmaceuticals, logistics and education. In October 2024, Solidcore agreed to acquire a 55% interest in the project from Berkut Mining LLP, a subsidiary of Lancaster Group, for a cash consideration of $82.5 million. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX