Jericho hearing set for early December

The Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) will hold a final public hearing regarding the Jericho diamond project from Dec 1-5, reports owner Tahera (TAH-T).

Held in the Nunavut communities of Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk, and Gjoa Haven, the hearing will allow regulators and all other interested parties to discuss the environmental and socio-economic data contained in the project’s environmental impact statement filed earlier this year.

The Jericho project is centred on a land-based multi-phase pipe with resources totalling 7.1 million tonnes grading 0.84 carat per tonne, equivalent to 5.9 million carats.

A recently updated feasibility at Jericho envisages an open-pit/underground mine capable of producing more than 3.1 million carats over at least 8 years, based on a reserve totalling 2.6 million tonnes running 1.2 carats per tonne. The project’s diamonds have been re-evaluated to US$81 per carat. Capital costs for the open-pit portion are pegged at $52.7 million, with another $12.7 million required for underground, sustaining and contingency costs. Operating costs over the life of mine are projected at $56 per carat.

Under the revised plan, the project offers at net present value of $85.5 million at a 5% discount; the internal rate of return comes to 32.7%.

The hearing represents one of the last hurdles in the regulatory approval process. Tahera hopes to wrap up permitting and project financing during 2004.

Tahera recently recovered five diamonds from 7.6 kg worth of material collected from a new kimberlite discovered in the Bird Lake area, 9 km south of the Jericho pipe in Nunavut. The largest stones was retained in the 0.3-mm square mesh. The company says several kimberlite indicator mineral trains in the area remain unexplained.

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