3 November 2014

Alufer Mining Limited

Completion of Bankable Feasibility Study for the Bel Air bauxite project in Guinea
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Study demonstrates low risk technical development with robust economics;

Initial production after 12 month construction period; and

Exceptionally low capital intensity and operating costs.

Alufer Mining Limited (Alufer or the Company), the bauxite exploration and development company,
is pleased to announce the completion and results of the bankable feasibility study (the BFS) for its
wholly owned Bel Air project (Bel Air or the Project) in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa.
Project Highlights:

A technically robust open-pit project that offers low capital and operating costs, rapid payback
and strong financial performance at current bauxite prices;
Twin development strategy allows fast track to 4.8 Mtpa production for immediate cashflow
generation;
12 month initial construction phase; first production targeted for H1 2016;
Ramp up phase to 10.3 Mtpa maximises throughput and reduces operating costs without
disruption to production; and
Includes development of dedicated export loading jetty infrastructure for transhipment of Direct
Shipping Ore (DSO) to Capesize vessels.

Economic Highlights:

Post-tax internal rate of return ("IRR") of 72%;

Post-tax net present value ("NPV") of US$760 million (at a 12% discount rate);
Initial construction capital requirement, including financing costs, of US$110 million;
Peak fundraising requirement of US$120 million with post-commercial production capex largely
funded by internal cashflows;
LOM cash operating costs of US$22/tonne free on board (FOB); and
Breakeven price, including working capital, in-country taxes and royalties of US$25/tonne FOB.

Danny Keating, CEO, commented:

The BFS economics have confirmed the Bel Air project to be the industry's pre-eminent undeveloped
bauxite project. Bel Airs potential scale demonstrates it will be a significant producer providing a high
quality product to the market in the near term. The Project is technically straightforward and can be fast
tracked to production with just 12 months of construction. With a surprisingly low capex and opex,
combined with immediate cashflow, the Project is economically resilient and has competitive
advantages over alternative sources of supply.
We have conducted a number of optimisation scenarios and believe that our mining plan will maximise
profitability, minimise technical risk and manage both our capital and operating costs. We are delighted

to have achieved this important milestone and we would like to thank the Government of Guinea for
their continued commitment and support to the Project. We look forward to taking Bel Air into its
construction phase in the coming months.
Project Overview:
The Bel Air bauxite project is located 15 km from the coast near the Cap Verga peninsula, 120 km north
of Guineas capital, Conakry. For the past four years Alufer's strategy has been the rapid advancement of
Bel Air to production to capitalise on the strong fundamentals of the bauxite market. To date, Alufer has
completed the Project BFS, the Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) and in September
2013, it was granted the Exploitation Licence (Mining Title) for Bel Air Mining Ltd.
Bel Air has defined reserves and resources for a premium quality, tri-hydrate DSO. The ore lies at surface
and will be mined by surface miners, then trucked down a haul road to the coast for loading onto the
transhipment barges at the dedicated export loading jetty at Cap Verga. DSO will be loaded onto
Capesize or Panamax class ocean-going vessels for delivery globally to China, Europe and North
American customers.
The development of the Project will be separated into two phases; an initial rapid production phase
based on a shorter causeway with semi-automated barge loading; this has a 12 month construction
period including mobilisation. Without disrupting production, the causeway will be widened and
extended and an automated materials handling unit will be added in order to increase throughput to
10.3 Mtpa and reduce the overall operating costs. The ramp-up phase only requires incremental
investment and, at current bauxite prices, will be almost entirely financed by the cash flows generated
by the rapid production phase.
Bel Air enjoys strong support from local communities and national Government. The Project will have a
material positive impact on Guineas GDP creating over 500 permanent jobs and provide significant tax
revenues for the Governments social welfare programmes.
Technical Overview:
Mining & Hauling
Following detailed investigation, the use of surface miners has been selected as the optimal mining
solution for Bel Air. By utilising surface miners rather than a drill and blast methodology, the dilution
and mining loss can be minimised, the primary crushing requirement can be significantly reduced and,
importantly, there is an improvement in geotechnical conditions.
The surface miners will mine, crush and load ore onto 40 tonne Articulated Dump Trucks (ADTs),
which will transport ore to temporary transfer stockpiles and waste to permanent waste dumps. Mobile
stackers will be utilised to automate the management of the ore transfer stockpiles. Dedicated 65 tonne
long haul trucks will transport ore along the purpose-built haul road to the export facility run-of-mine
(ROM) tip.
Transhipment & Stockpiling
In the initial phase, stockpiled ore will be loaded onto 40 tonne ADTs for transport along the causeway
to the barge berth. Ore will be tipped into two shiploader feed bins located parallel to the berth and
loaded onto transhipment barges through a semi-automated mobile shiploader (conveyer boom

feeder). As part of the ramp-up phase, a fully-automated causeway conveyor will be installed to feed a
longitudinal shiploader at design capacity of 5,000 tph.
Multiple Berth Export Facility
The optimised solution for delivering rapid production, globally significant bauxite output and low
operating costs requires the construction of a multiple berth export facility. Initially the causeway will be
developed to sufficient depth to allow tide-assisted loading of transhipment barges via a mobile barge
loader. The widening and extension of the causeway will continue without interrupting production until
the continuous loading of transhipment barges is possible. There will be an export conveyor, tripping
conveyor and longitudinal shiploader built on the expanded causeway with an additional throughput
capacity of 5.5 Mtpa.
Transhipment Operations
The shallow marine conditions at Cap Verga require transhipment to load ocean going vessels (OGVs).
The transhipment operation has been designed for the loading of both Panamax and Capesize vessels,
similar to the practices employed in the iron ore and thermal coal markets. For Bel Air, a contractor
transhipment solution has been developed, with specially designed floating cranes, tugs and barges. By
utilising this equipment, Alufer will be able to load Capesize vessels without incurring large demurrage
costs and this will offer a considerable economic advantage over projects that are only able to load
smaller Panamax vessels.
Financial Overview:
The Project will fast track production within 12 months, initially at 4.8 Mtpa ramping up to 10.3 Mtpa
utilising the internal cashflows of the business. The increased throughput will also significantly reduce
operating costs through greater economies of scale and improved levels of automation of the haulage
and export process. The Project has an initial peak fundraising requirement of US$120 million with postcommercial production capex being almost entirely funded from project cashflows. This is significantly
less than other pending bauxite mine development plans, with the key advantage being the Projects
proximity to the port and its simple mining methodology. The key financials are shown below:
Initial construction capital
P&Gs
Peak project fundraising requirement (nominal)
Total LOM Operating Cost (10.3Mtpa)
NPV
IRR
1.

US$ 66.5 million

US$ 24.7 million
1
US$ 120 million
US$ 22/tonne (FOB)
1
US$ 766 million
1
72%

Based on average bauxite price of US$70.2/t CFR China

Ebola Virus Update

The situation in Guinea continues to be severe and Alufer is responding by supporting the efforts of the
WHO and Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF). To date the Company has implemented all precautions as
prescribed by the WHO/MSF.

The Project construction and implementation schedule currently requires boots on the ground by
March 2015 and this could be impacted by the Ebola virus. The extent of any delay to the Project is a
function of the timeframe taken to bring the spread of the disease under control. In the meantime,
Alufer will lay all the groundwork to enable immediate commencement of the construction phase as
soon as is practicable.
The Lab Project
Alufer also owns the Lab Project which is further inland in Central Guinea. To date, a JORC compliant
resource of 2.5 billion tonnes of high grade ore (43% Al2O3) (with 583 million tonnes at 50% Al2O3) has
been defined on the property. Further, an Engineering Concept Study has been completed and Alufer
expects to commence a Pre-Feasibility Study in 2015.
ENDS
Enquiries:
Alufer Mining Limited
Danny Keating, CEO

+44 (0) 7799 214 083

Tavistock
Jos Simson / Emily Fenton

+44 (0) 207 920 3150

Overview of Alufer Mining Limited

Alufer Mining Limited and its Guinea subsidiaries hold substantial bauxite assets in Guinea, West Africa.
The Group currently holds an Exploitation Licence at its Bel Air Project, as well as bauxite Exploration
Licences; the Bel Air North Project located in the Boffa region of western Guinea, adjacent to the Bel Air
Exploitation Licence and the Lab Project in central Guinea. The Companys objective is to become a
significant global bauxite producer by bringing the Bel Air Project into production in 2016, followed by
the Lab Project where a Pre-Feasibility Study is expected to commence in 2015.