Australian listed Elementos Ltd. (ASX – ELT) has announced the completion of an independent scoping study for the final underground phase of its three-stage mine development of its Cleveland tin-tungsten-copper project, near Luina in northwest Tasmania.

The proposed 8-year underground operation, which would almost double the multistage operations mine life to 15 years, contains both tin-copper and tungsten orebodies amenable to low cost mechanised bulk mining and will produce tin, copper and paratungstate (APT) concentrates. Planned production will peak at 650,000 tonnes of tin ore per year, but there is potential capacity to produce up to 900,000 tonnes of ore annually.

Development of the defunct underground mine will involve redevelopment of an existing 3.5 km decline and 9.7 km of existing underground mine infrastructure, which will minimise the required capital expenditure to A$ 28.3 million, encompassing A$ 10.8 million for mine redevelopment, A$ 7.5 million for upgrading of the tungsten processing plant and A$ 10 million for a new tailings storage facility. It is intended that the development of the underground operation will be funded from the proceeds of the initial tailings and open pit stages of the mine operation.

Tailings reprocessing as part of the first phase of the operation is targeted for 2017, with second stage open pit production planned for 2018 and production from the underground mine expected to commence in 2021. The next step is the completion of a pre-feasibility study for the project, which will begin with metallurgical testing and additional drilling to further define the resources present.