The Supervisory Board of “KAZNICKEL” LLP approved signing a contract with CSA Global (Australia), an independent appraiser for the Pre-Feasibility and the Feasibility Studies of Gornostayevskoye Cobalt-Nickel Field.  

Almaty, November 29, 2021 – The Supervisory Board of “KAZNICKEL” LLP approved signing a contract with CSA Global (Australia), an international independent appraiser and auditor for the Pre-Feasibility and the Feasibility Studies for Gornostay Field development project. The Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) will be designed for the project of nickel and cobalt extraction applying in-situ leaching technology, and the Feasibility Study (FS) will be performed for the processing facility. 

The above-mentioned studies will be used to compile a feasibility report verifying project economics, capital expenditures and budgets estimates. The report will facilitate a conversion of the field’s resources to “probable/proven reserves” category under JORC Code and KazRC. 

The feasibility report will be divided into three stages:

– Stage 1А. Outline detailed primary studies for PFS/FS reports, participate in selecting the company responsible for primary studies, including analysis of completed hydrogeological works, analysis of hydrometallurgical data obtained at field blocks and environmental data analysis.
– Stage 1B. Update mineral reserves assessment report (in compliance with JORC Code and KazRC) based on the new data obtained in the Year of 2021.
– Stage 2. Conduct technical consultations and support studies needed for PFS/FS reports development.
– Stage 3. Collect and scrutinize the findings of studies and prepare PFS/FS reports.

It is anticipated that consultants would complete their reports by the end of the Year of 2022. According to the global classification, a permissible variation may be up to 20% for PFS reports, and up to 10% for FS reports. 

«This is an innovative project and we are the first to use well-proven technology of in-situ leaching to extract nickel and cobalt. In addition to economic benefits, the above-mentioned technology, comparing to conventional methods, anticipates to bring-in ecological benefits, namely a significant mitigation of the negative environmental impact. 

«Green» nickel and cobalt, with a low carbon footprint, are of a great demand from the manufacturers of electric car batteries. Investors are keen to see more mining projects to produce nickel and cobalt in such a way. Therefore, we invest into research and development of the project with a high degree of enthusiasm, and being fully compliant with the world’s best practice we welcome international consultants to provide their independent assessment of our projects» noted Kenges Rakishev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fincraft Resources and Battery Metals Technologies and Supervisory Board’s Chairman of “KAZNICKEL” LLP. 

CSA Global already completed Scoping Study in 2020, confirming promising outlook for development of Gornostay field with in-situ leaching technology. For six months of 2021, “KAZNICKEL” LLP has been undertaking a test extraction of nickel concentrate using ISL technology and have produced 3500 kg. of ore concentrate during the probation period. 

About “KAZNICKEL” LLP:

“KAZNICKEL” LLP is a license holder for exploration and development of cobalt-nickel Gornostay ore field. “KAZNICKEL” LLP is owned by Battery Metals Technologies, a company fully owned by “Fincraft Resources” JSC. 

The Supervisory Board of “KAZNICKEL” LLP: 

· Chairman of Supervisory Board - Kenges Rakishev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Fincraft Resources” JSC and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Battery Metals Technologies;
· Members of Supervisory Board - Bektas Mukazhanov, Chief Executive Officer of “Fincraft Resources” JSC and Erlan Idrisov, Director General of Battery Metals Technologies.

“KAZNICKEL” LLP implements a project for mining development applying innovative technology of drillhole in-situ leaching (ISL). The technology allows to almost eliminate negative impact for soil and environment as compared to conventional methods for metals extraction; fully automate production cycle and significantly reduce the cost of metal extracting. 

The Gornostay field is located in Beskaragay district of East Kazakhstan province. The field resources are: ore – 106,5 mln.tons, nickel (Ni) –  627,6 thous.tons, cobalt (Со) –  42,23 thous.tons  (resources are classified as indicated and inferred according to CSA Global reserves estimate (JORC, 2021)) and according to KAZRC Code. The estimated reserve life of the deposit stands for over 30 years.