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Interview with Nick Tintor, President and CEO of Ferrum Americas
Ferrum Americas Mining Inc. was created to advance and develop to production the Cerro Rojo iron ore project in Eastern Bolivia. Ferrum is focused on developing low capital expenditure iron ore projects in the Americas which are characterized by access to logistics and transportation to markets and relatively simple beneficiation processing requirements.
Nick Tintor: Developing Cerro Rojo Iron Project in Bolivia
----Interview with Nick Tintor, President and CEO of Ferrum Americas
Asian Metal: Hello Nick, and thank you for agreeing to do this interview with Asian Metal. I would like to begin by asking what was the attraction of mining specifically in Bolivia as opposed to other South American nations?
Nick: The primary attraction is that the Cerro Rojo deposit is characterized by relatively high grades around +50% Fe and has favorable infrastructure.
Asian Metal: How much infrastructure upgrading would be required to bring the project to full production capacity?
Nick: Cerro Rojo is located about 50 km west of Puerto Suarez, on the Bolivian-Brazilian border. Our focus is on starting with a small capital expenditure project, meaning around 500,000mt per year of product which can be trucked or railed to the Puerto Suarez. From there product would be barged in large barge-tug convoys down the Hidrovia to shipping in Argentina. Very little infrastructure upgrading is required as it exists.
Asian Metal: The mineral is fairly high-quality, verging on direct-shipping ore. What are the current plans for production, to sell as pellets?
Nick: We are completing our first phase drilling campaign which will generate samples for detailed metallurgical and beneficiation test work. Although relatively high grade with material grading in excess of 50% Fe, it is not direct shipping and will require some beneficiation. We envisage selling sinter fines and possibly pellet feed product.
Asian Metal: Are there any short-term plans for a NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate?
Nick: We anticipate completing our first phase drill campaign by early November. This program should be sufficient to allow for the estimation of a 43-101 resource. That study would be available sometime in the first quarter of 2013 along with a beneficiation study.
Asian Metal: Has the dissolution of the contract between Jindal Steel and the Bolivian government affected Ferrum’s future plans in any significant way?
Nick: Except for the negative optics amongst investors, the answer is no. We have enjoyed remarkable community support and this has increased following the departure of Jindal. The region of Puerto Suarez is very much pro-business development and has been very supportive of our program.
Asian Metal: Investments in South America by Asian companies have been growing over the past year as Asian manufacturers look to diversify sources for mineral reserves. Does Ferrum have any plans or prospective joint venture agreements on the horizon?
Nick: Ferrum will have to consider the possibility of inviting a joint venture partner to help develop the project. Not only do we offer an exciting opportunity in Bolivia, our business model is to focus on projects which can be brought to production with relatively small capital expenditures as opposed to the giant billion dollar projects we see around the world. This, we feel, will help mitigate financing risk whilst allowing us to demonstrate proof of concept and then scale up production.
Asian Metal: What are some of the challenges that Ferrum could face over the short-term?
Nick: The current weakness in iron ore markets will hurt our financing abilities and this is something we will have to address. Having said that, we remain extremely bullish on iron ore over the next 10 years and believe we are very well positioned to be a leader in fast tracking projects.
Asian Metal: What makes Ferrum unique in the South American iron ore market and what role does the company expect to play in the global market over the next few years?
Nick: Our focus is on smaller projects which we believe can be brought to production with relatively small capital expenditures. This means we focus on projects with very good infrastructure and access to rail, roads and ports. In addition to Cerro Rojo in Bolivia, we are actively conducting due diligence on several projects which meet our criteria, in other Latin American countries, notably Chile.
Asian Metal: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with Asian Metal!
Nick: Thank you!
Nick: The primary attraction is that the Cerro Rojo deposit is characterized by relatively high grades around +50% Fe and has favorable infrastructure.
Asian Metal: How much infrastructure upgrading would be required to bring the project to full production capacity?
Nick: Cerro Rojo is located about 50 km west of Puerto Suarez, on the Bolivian-Brazilian border. Our focus is on starting with a small capital expenditure project, meaning around 500,000mt per year of product which can be trucked or railed to the Puerto Suarez. From there product would be barged in large barge-tug convoys down the Hidrovia to shipping in Argentina. Very little infrastructure upgrading is required as it exists.
Asian Metal: The mineral is fairly high-quality, verging on direct-shipping ore. What are the current plans for production, to sell as pellets?
Nick: We are completing our first phase drilling campaign which will generate samples for detailed metallurgical and beneficiation test work. Although relatively high grade with material grading in excess of 50% Fe, it is not direct shipping and will require some beneficiation. We envisage selling sinter fines and possibly pellet feed product.
Asian Metal: Are there any short-term plans for a NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate?
Nick: We anticipate completing our first phase drill campaign by early November. This program should be sufficient to allow for the estimation of a 43-101 resource. That study would be available sometime in the first quarter of 2013 along with a beneficiation study.
Asian Metal: Has the dissolution of the contract between Jindal Steel and the Bolivian government affected Ferrum’s future plans in any significant way?
Nick: Except for the negative optics amongst investors, the answer is no. We have enjoyed remarkable community support and this has increased following the departure of Jindal. The region of Puerto Suarez is very much pro-business development and has been very supportive of our program.
Asian Metal: Investments in South America by Asian companies have been growing over the past year as Asian manufacturers look to diversify sources for mineral reserves. Does Ferrum have any plans or prospective joint venture agreements on the horizon?
Nick: Ferrum will have to consider the possibility of inviting a joint venture partner to help develop the project. Not only do we offer an exciting opportunity in Bolivia, our business model is to focus on projects which can be brought to production with relatively small capital expenditures as opposed to the giant billion dollar projects we see around the world. This, we feel, will help mitigate financing risk whilst allowing us to demonstrate proof of concept and then scale up production.
Asian Metal: What are some of the challenges that Ferrum could face over the short-term?
Nick: The current weakness in iron ore markets will hurt our financing abilities and this is something we will have to address. Having said that, we remain extremely bullish on iron ore over the next 10 years and believe we are very well positioned to be a leader in fast tracking projects.
Asian Metal: What makes Ferrum unique in the South American iron ore market and what role does the company expect to play in the global market over the next few years?
Nick: Our focus is on smaller projects which we believe can be brought to production with relatively small capital expenditures. This means we focus on projects with very good infrastructure and access to rail, roads and ports. In addition to Cerro Rojo in Bolivia, we are actively conducting due diligence on several projects which meet our criteria, in other Latin American countries, notably Chile.
Asian Metal: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with Asian Metal!
Nick: Thank you!