Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
V:CRE WWW.CECORP.CA
April 2015
www.cecorp.ca
DISCLAIMERS
Except for historical information contained herein, this presentation may
contain forward looking statements including but not limited to
comments regarding predictions and projections. Forward looking
statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve
inherent risks and uncertainties. Although Critical Elements Corporation
believes that such expectations are reasonable, there can be no
assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct, and therefore
actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in
such statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
any such forward looking statements, whether made in this
presentation or in any question and answer period related to this
presentation.
2
Forward Looking Statements
www.cecorp.ca
MARKET INFORMATION
Trading Symbol: TSX-V: CRE Frankfurt: F12 OTCQX: CRECF
Share Structure: 123M ($0.245)
Warrants: 4 M at $0.375 and 1,93M at $0.35
Fully diluted: 134.5 M
Market Cap: $25.4 M
Management & Directors ownership: ≈20%
Board and Management:
■ Jean-Sébastien Lavallée, P.Geo, President & CEO
■ Jean-François Meilleur, Vice-President
■ Jean-Raymond Lavallée, Director
■ Richard Saint-Jean, Director
■ Matthew Lauriston Starnes, Director
■ Marc Simpson, Director
■ Nathalie Laurin, CFO & Secretary
3
www.cecorp.ca
BOARD OF DIRECTORS & CONSULTANT
Jean-Sébastien Lavallée, President & CEO | Mr. Lavallée has been active in mining exploration since 1994. He is the vice
president of Consul-Teck Exploration Inc., a consulting firm of Val-d`Or founded in 2003 that specializes in mining exploration in northern
areas. Most of the firm’s mandates involve the generation and execution of projects in remote areas. Mr. Lavallée has acted as a geologist for
many companies, including Eloro Resources Ltd., Uracan Resources Ltd., Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., Noranda Minerals Inc., Champion
Minerals Inc., Matamec Explorations Inc. and Argex Mining Inc. Having been responsible for the planning and execution of many exploration
programs in recent years, Mr. Lavallée has acquired a solid experience in exploration project development.
Jean-François Meilleur, Vice-President | Mr. Meilleur is currently President and co-owner of Paradox Public Relations. His
many accomplishments include playing a key role in raising funds for many projects. Mr. Meilleur holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the HEC
business school (Hautes Études Commerciales) in Montreal, with a specialization in marketing and finance. Mr. Meilleur previously worked as
a trader at Swiftrade, and has extensive knowledge of the financial markets.
Jean-Raymond Lavallée, Director | Mr. Lavallée has more than 30 years of experience in mining exploration, as contractor,
consultant and manager for several mining companies, such as Louvem, Soquem, James-Bay Development Corporation, Sullivan
Consolidated, Cache Explorations Inc., Parquet Resources, Dumont Nickel Corporation, Westminer Canada Ltd, Baribec Management
Inc., Exploration Ojibway Inc. and others. He was also a controller for Mines Expert Inc., during the construction of the Doyon Mine. Mr.
Lavallee is currently president of Consul-Teck Exploration, a consulting firm of Val-d'Or founded in 2003 that specializes in mining
exploration in northern areas.
Richard Saint-Jean, Director | Mr. Richard Saint-Jean is a metallurgist technician with over 20 years of mining experience. He
is currently the General Director for BlackRock Metals Inc., a private iron ore mining company. Previously, he was a Mill Manager for the
Troilus open pit gold/copper mine in Chibougamau, where he worked for over 14 years. He has worked on four mill start-ups: Meston
Resources, Graphicor mine, Cambior mine and Troilus mine. At Troilus, he participated in the two mill expansions as well as the Closure
plan. He has worked closely with the First Nation including the Cree communities for over 15 years.
Marc Simpson, Director | Mr. Marc Simpson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Uracan Resources. Mr. Simpson has
worked in the mining and exploration industry for over 23 years. He has worked for Junior, Mid-tier and Senior mining companies on
projects both in Canada and worldwide, including Bema Gold (sold to Kinross for CDN$3.5 billion in 2007), B2Gold, and Echo Bay
Mines. Mr. Simpson has been involved in exploration and mining projects from grass roots exploration through to mine development and
production. Mr. Simpson obtained his B.Sc. in Geology from the University of Manitoba and is a member of Association of Professional
Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia and Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of
Manitoba. 4
www.cecorp.ca
5
Matthew Lauriston Starnes, Director | Mr. Lauriston Starnes is a lawyer with over 17 years of experience and the capacity to
work in all areas of law, including civil law, common law, contract negotiation and drafting, arbitration, taxes and permits and government
relations. Mr. Starnes is currently legal counsel for Sumitomo Corporation's Mineral Resources Division in Tokyo, Japan. Among other things,
he was responsible for negotiating the joint venture agreement with a Canadian partner, the financing agreement with Japanese lenders and
offtake and distribution agreements with Japanese and other worldwide buyers for the Sierra Gorda project in Chile. He was also responsible
for negotiating power, railway, port and transportation infrastructure agreements and helping the proponents establish good governance
procedures for the project. He is also part of the team for the Ambatovy project in Madagascar, where he participated in preparing for
completion, settlement negotiation with Korean contractors and sits on a number of committees. Prior to joining Sumitomo, he also was the
General Counsel and Deputy CEO for the Ambatovy project. Mr. Starnes has also practiced as a corporate lawyer with major law firms in
Montreal.
Paul Bonneville, Project Manager | Mr. Bonneville has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry in Canada. He was
Vice President Operations for Scorpio Mining and Vice President Mines for Cadiscor Resources. He worked for Dumas Contracting as Project
Manager at the Lapa and Goldex shaft projects and for Ross-Finlay Ltd., where he held a range of positions, including Project Manager at the
Bell-Allard shaft project and the Silidor project, and at Pan American Silver Corp. He has also managed a number of overseas operations.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS & CONSULTANTS (cont’d)
www.cecorp.ca
ROSE LITHIUM-TANTALUM PROJECT
• PROJECT LOCATION: Quebec, 75 km due south of Goldcorp’s
Eleonore Gold Deposit
• 35 km north of Nemiscau, road access, airport
• Power line directly on the project
• 100 Ton road capacity 100 m from site
• Hydro-Quebec Camp 30 km from site
• Quebec is ranked 11th in the world for mining investments*
• $300MM Government tax credit for 2nd-3rd mineral transformation
• PDA signed with Eastmain Cree Community
PROJECT INFRASTRUCTURE
6
FEASIBILITY STUDY CONTRACTORS
ENGINEERING FIRM DEPARTMENT
AMBUCK Mining
GENIVAR Environmental/Infrastructure
BUMIGENE / SGS
Lakefield
Metallurgical process/ Flow-Sheet/
Transformation process
SECOR Plant location strategy
AMEC Tailings
www.cecorp.ca
TRANSPORTATION LOGISTICS
7
www.cecorp.ca
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT STUDY :
Highlights of the Preliminary Economic Assessment Study Include:
The financial analysis of the Rose Project was based of price forecasts of US$260/kg ($118/lb) for Ta2O5
contained in a tantalite concentrate and US$6,000/t for lithium carbonate (Li2CO3).
The pre-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the Rose Project is estimated at 33%, with a Net Present Value
(NPV) of CA$488 million at an 8% discount rate. The payback period is estimated at 4.1 years. The after-
tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the Rose Project is estimated at 25%, with a Net Present Value (NPV)
of CA$279 million at an 8% discount rate.
The economic analysis is based on a mine life of 17 years, estimated capital costs of CA $268.6 million and operating
costs of CA $67.65/tonne of ore milled. Ongoing capital investment was estimated at CA $36.8 million. Calculations
include contingencies of 10% and assumed parity between the Canadian and the American dollars.8
Project IRR
Pre-tax 33%
After-tax 25%
Average net operating
income after tax$81.4 MM / year
Discount RateNPV
(before taxes)
NPV
(after taxes)
0% 1 078 611 885 CA$ 665 122 755 CA$
5% 651 789 479 CA$ 387 145 131 CA$
8% 488 360 406 CA$ 279 358 227 CA$
10% 403 744 658 CA$ 223 097 949 CA$
12% 333 626 451 CA$ 176 175 210 CA$
www.cecorp.ca
ROSE – NPV & IRR commodity price sensitivity
9
NPV* Lithium carbonate price per tone
(US$MM) $4500 $6000 $8500 $10000
$100 $95.3 $453 $1,051 $1,409
$118 $129 $488 $1,085 $1,444
$135 $163 $522 $1,119 $1,477
$155 $202 $561 $1,158 $1,517
IRR* Lithium carbonate price per tone
(US$MM) $4500 $6000 $8500 $10000
$100 14,4% 31,5% 52,1% 62.5%
$118 16,5% 33% 53.3% 63.6%
$135 18,4% 34,3% 54,4% 64,7%
$155 20.5% 35,9% 55,7% 65,8%
Tanta
lum
price
per
pound
Tanta
lum
price
per
pound
* From an 8% discount rate.
www.cecorp.ca
PEA Revenue and Net Operating Profit Projections (first 5 years)
10
0.000
50.000
100.000
150.000
200.000
250.000
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Revenue ($ 000's)
Gross OperatingProfits ($ 000's)
Net Operating Profits($ 000's)
*Pre-tax
*After-tax
*Tax credits and past losses & debt
repayment are passed at year 4
www.cecorp.ca
ROSE –NI 43-101 PEA Metrics (continued)
1- Avg. net operating income after tax $81.4 MM / year
2- Mine / processing / transformationOpen-pit / Flotation / Magnetic / Kiln, leaching,
carbonate
3- Open-Pit ore mining rate Average ore processing rate 4600 t/d 1.5 MM t/y
4- Cash cost per tonne of lithium carbonate (net of tantalum credit) $ 2900 / t Li2CO3
5- Resources (diluted grade at the mill) 24.3 MM t @ 0.89% Li2O, 132 ppm Ta2O5
6- Total contained materials 452 306 t Li2CO3 3.5 MM lbs Ta2O5
7- Average annual production 26 606 t Li2CO3 206 670 lbs Ta2O5
8- Initial mine life 17 years
9- Avg. commodity price $6000 / t Li2CO3 $118 / lb Ta2O5
10- Initial capital (CAPEX) $268.6 MM
11- Sustaining capital $36.8 MM
12- Payback period 4.1 years
13- Operating cost (avg. LOM) $67.65/t
14- Royalty 2%
15- Tax rate (On operation profits over LOM) 30%
16- Net Recovery rates 84.8% Li2CO3 50% Ta2O5
11
www.cecorp.ca
LITHIUM COST PER TON PROJECTS
12
Source: Roskill Market Outlook to 2017, 2013,
Production costs for 2012
Critical Elements lithium
production cost targeted:
$2900/t net of by product
Lithium Carbonate cost curve from different projects demonstrate a significant
cost advantage for a premium purity lithium carbonate
With more than a 2 years of metallurgical testing and with current flow sheet optimization work the
Rose Lithium-Tantalum can compete with any lithium deposits on a cost per ton base due to:
Simple flotation
processing and coarse
milling with low energy
consumption
Low cost reagents
No sulfuric acid used in
the process
Because of it’s In-Situ
high purity
Higher lithium recoveries
in the concentration &
carbonatation process
than its peers
High demand tantalum
by-product compared to
large potash supply from
other lithium project
www.cecorp.ca
• Metallurgy work carried by Bumigeme and SGS Lakefield.
• Over 300 composites over the deposit have been tested
• Metallurgical testing based on representative composite sample for the first
8 years of production (selected Holes between Holes LR-09-02 to LR-10-123)
• Lithium concentrate batch flotation reached up to 91.9% recovery with a concentration grade of 6.43% Li2O and
the average recovery stand at 90.88% with a concentration grade of 6.20% Li2O
• Low iron content at 0.13% Fe2O3 as a solid solution in its crystal structure
• Achieved 99.98% lithium carbonate electric vehicle battery grade
• Bi-Carbonatation transformation recovered up to 96% (based on CRM process) of the Li2O concentrate for an
overall recovery up to of 88.2% from initial input to finished of Li2CO3
• On going test to optimize Li2CO3 purity and recovery by bi-carbonatation
• Recently improved Ta2O5 magnetic recoveries with an average of 77.6% from 50% in PEA
• No Uranium and Thorium in the deposit
Rose Project Metallurgy Highlights
ROSE LITHIUM-TANTALUM PROJECT
13
www.cecorp.ca
HIGH LITHIUM PURITY MATERIAL
14
• Market diversification advantage to other lithium deposits
• Battery Grade market, with 99.98% purity lithium
carbonate
• The Ceramic & Glass market with a low iron content with
an average spodumene grain containing 0.13% Fe2O3
as solid solution in its crystal structure
• As a result, the flotation concentrate contained <0.3%
Fe2O3 as a whole
• Lithium demand from 2000 to 2008 grow by 10% per
year and forecast up to 2017 is more than 11% per year*
• Battery grade lithium forecast the demand to grow by
134% from 2012 to 2017*
The Rose Lithium-Tantalum Deposit can supply multiple lithium
markets because of its unique purity and it’s low production cost
Roasted Lithium spodumene concentrate from Rose Roasted Lithium spodumene concentrate from
other lithium deposits
• The battery grade and the ceramic & glass
market represent more than 50% of the lithium
demand
• Both markets have high entry barriers (product
purity)
• Recent mine closure in Canada leave only one
major low-iron spodumene source with the
Greenbushes Deposit in Australia (purchased
for $848MM by Tianqi)
• High demand and value per ton compared to
low purity product
Roskil information Services Ltd
www.cecorp.ca
LCT FLOTATION FLOWSHEET
15
www.cecorp.ca
ROSE - MINERAL RESOURCE
Tonnes Li2O Li2O Li2CO3 Ta2O5 Ga Be Rb
(X 1,000)(%)
(equivalent)
(%) (%)(equivalent)
ppm
(g/t)
ppm
(g/t)
ppm
(g/t)
ppm
(g/t)
Indicated
Resources 26,500 1.30% 0.98% 2.42% 163 66 128 2,343
Total 259,700 t 642,238 t 4,3 M kg 1,7 M kg 3,4 M kg 62,1 M kg
(1,412 M lbs) (9,5 M lbs) (3,8 M lbs) ( 7,4 M lbs) (136, 7 M lbs)
Inferred
Resources 10,700 1.14% 0.86% 2.13% 145 61 121 1,418
Total 92,020 t 227,565 t 1,5 M kg 653,484 kg 1,3 M kg 15,2 M kg
(500,6 M lbs) (3,4M lbs) (1,4 M lbs) (2,9 M lbs) (33,4 M lbs)
The resource was compiled using a cut-off grade of 41$/t for the open pit model and 66$/t for the underground
model (taking Li and Ta recovery into consideration) based on the current estimation of the resource and market
conditions.
This new indicated resource represents an increase of 131% in tonnage, 129% in Ta2O5 and 69% increase in
Li2O. The new inferred resources represent an increase of 393% in tonnage, 418% in Ta2O5 and 234 % in Li2O.
• $6,000 / tonne of Li2CO3 (Source: Canada Lithium Corp. Website)
• $317 / kg of Ta or $260 / kg Ta2O5 (Source: Commerce Resources Corp. Website)
16
www.cecorp.ca
Cost of discovery = $0.15 per indicated tones of material
(from rock showings to 1st resource estimate)
ROSE TANTALUM-LITHIUM PROJECT
Construction decision Construction Production Start-up (2017) Current date
Main ActivitiesBudget $
(Spent)
2010
2011
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
1st Phase Exploration 2,000,000
1st Resources Definition 75,000
2nd Phase Exploration 1,000,000
2nd Resources Definition 30,000
Metallurgical Testing 150,000
Preliminary Economic
Assessment (PEA)Study 500,000
Environmental Impact Study 100,000
Negotiations with potential
partners150,000
Feasibility Study 3,500,000
Permitting, Cree relations 250,000
Building mining team 1,000,000
Project financing (mine) 268MM
Construction
16
www.cecorp.ca
INFRASTRUCTURE MAP
Lithium One
Indicated Resources: 11,750,000 tonnes; 1.30% Li2O
Inferred Resources: 10,470,000 tonnes;1.20% Li2O
Nemaska Exploration
Indicated Resources: 25,078,000 tonnes; 1.54% Li2O
Inferred Resources: 4,401,000 tonnes; 1.51% Li2O
18
CRITICAL ELEMENTS CORPORATION
Rose Deposit
INDICATED Resources : 26,500,000 tonnes;1.30% Li2O
Eq. or 0.98% Li2O and 163 ppm Ta2O5
CRITICAL ELEMENTS CORPORATION
Rose Deposit
INFERRED Resources : 10,700,000 tonnes; 1.14% Li2O
Eq. or 0.86% Li2O and 145 ppm Ta2O5
www.cecorp.ca
ROSE DEPOSIT & GROWTH POTENTIAL
CRITICAL ELEMENTS CORPORATION
Rose Deposit
INDICATED Resources : 26,500,000 tonnes; 1.30%
Li2O Eq. or 0.98% Li2O and 163 ppm Ta2O5
INFERRED Resources : 10,700,000 tonnes; 1.14%
Li2O Eq. or 0.86% Li2O and 145 ppm Ta2O5
HYDRO POWER
LINE
ROSE SUD
PIVERT
CRITICAL ELEMENTS CORPORATION
JR Showing
INDICATED Resources : 1,154,700 tonnes; 0.82%
Li2O and 122 ppm Ta2O5
Camp
Girard
Rose West
Pivert Middle
PIVERT EST 0.44% LI2O, and 181 ppm Ta205 /
4 m channel sample
PIVERT SUD 0.87% LI2O and 169 ppm Ta205 /
28 m channel sample
19
JR Extention West of JR Resource 0.94% LI2O and 226 ppm Ta205 / 5 m channel sample
1.07% LI2O and 215 ppm Ta205 / 10 m channel sample
HELICO0.44% LI2O and 196 ppm Ta205 /
116 m channel sample
www.cecorp.ca
PIVERT/ROSE - TYPICAL VERTICAL SECTION
20
www.cecorp.ca
LITHIUM MARKET DEMAND
-
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Current Emerging and Growth Future Transport Low Case
Future Transport High Case
Source: www.talison.com
Rockwood Q4 2013 21
Supply / Demand Conditions Tightening
Supply
Current World Producers: SQM: Brine
FMC: Brine
Rockwood Holdings: Brine
Tianqi/Talison: Hard rock
Current World Capacity ≈ 200 000T World capacity is affected by low potash price down 68%
(see Rockwood & FMC 2013 Q4)
Chile Postponed lithium expansion for all producer beyond
2015
20% increase in battery grade lithium in 2013 (Rockwood 2013 Q4)
Battery grade Lithium supply shortfall by 2016
New Potential Battery Grade Suppliers (scheduled production for 2016-2017)
RB Energy
Orocobre
Critical Elements Corp.
Nemaska Lithium
Lithium Americas
www.cecorp.ca
Recent Lithium Market Developments
Albemarle & Rockwood Lithium to merge
Chemicals maker Albemarle Corp.’s (ALB) proposed acquisition of Rockwood Holdings, Inc.(ROC)
for $6.2 billion has been cleared by shareholders of both companies at their respective special
meetings.
Albemarle agreed to acquire Rockwood in Jul 2014 in a cash and stock deal. Under the deal terms, the
company agreed to pay $50.65 in cash and 0.4803 of a share of its stock for each outstanding
Rockwood share.
RB Energy Receives Initial Order Under CCAA
VANCOUVER, CANADA--(Marketwired - Oct. 15, 2014) - RB Energy Inc. (the "Company" or "RBI")
(TSX:RBI)(OTCQX:RBEIF) announces that the Quebec Superior Court has issued an Amended and
Restated Initial Order in respect of the Company and certain of its subsidiaries under the Companies'
Creditors Arrangement Act (the "CCAA"). The Company is now under the protection of the Court.
FMC Corporation Announces Lithium Carbonate and Lithium Salts Price Increase
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) announced today that
effective December 1, 2014, or as contracts permit, it will increase global pricing for all grades of lithium
carbonate and lithium salts including lithium hydroxide, pharmaceutical carbonate and specialty salts by
10 percent. The increases apply to all standard and non-standard pricing.
22
www.cecorp.ca
INCREASE IN BATTERY GRADE DEMAND
ROC noted continued growth in lithium carbonate and hydroxide (volume up 20% y/y in 2013) driven by battery demand. (Post earning comments by First Analysis on Q4 2013 by ROC)
The Market is currently driven by consumer products that require battery grade lithium. Only a limited number of
producers can supply the high end grade lithium; as a Seymour Pierce research noted, SQM, FMC, and Rockwood, the
largest suppliers of lithium carbonate do not at present have the capability to supply 99.99% Li2CO3 to the market from
the brines.
Tesla planning to build a Giga battery factory by 2020 and disrupt the car industry. The goal is to service 500 000 electric
cars per year. Tesla would more than double the current global lithium-ion battery production.
23
Potential new
lithium suppliers:
Company Projected output
(ton/year)
Lithium Source Project stage Off-Take/
Partner
≈ Project
CAPEX
Project NPV Project
IRR
≈ Market
Cap
RB Energy ≈20 000 Hard rock Receivership Marubeni/
Tewoo
Spend $318MM 32% $200MM
Orocobre ≈17 000 Brine In construction 80%
completed
Toyota
Tsusho
Funded $415MM
(7,5%)
26% $319MM
Western
Lithium
≈13 000 Clay Pre-Feasibility
completed/ Pilot plan
In
discussions
$248MM $552MM 24% $56MM
Critical
Elements
≈26 500 Hard Rock Completing Bankable
Feasibility
In
discussions
$268MM $488MM 33% $23MM
Nemaska
Lithium
≈30 000 Hard rock Feasibility Completed/
Pilot
Tianqi $448MM $924MM 25% $21MM
Lithium
Americas
≈20 000 Brine Feasibility completed POSCO $314MM $738MM 23% $19MM
Houston
Lake Mining
N/A Hard Rock Resource development
stage
In
discussions
N/A N/A N/A $6MM
Rodinia
Lithium
≈15 000 Brine Pre-Feasibility In
discussions
$144MM $561MM 34% $5MM
International
lithium
N/A Brine/Hard rock Resource development
stage
Jiangxi
Ganfeng
N/A N/A N/A $3MM
www.cecorp.ca
ELECTRIC VEHICLE MARKET
• Industry consensus to develop High-Performance Li-ion vehicles
• Major World cities are rapidly implementing infrastructures
• In North America, over 12,000 charging stations will be in place by the end of 2012. In
Europe, Norway has 3,200 charging points. Japan already above 800
• Li-ion battery technology for electric vehicle is adopted by major car makers like; Toyota,
Ford, GM, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Honda, Mercedes-Smart, BMW, Volvo, Mazda,
Hyundai and more
• Significant reduction of the acquisition cost Toyota Prius C sales from $20,950
24
• Tesla Motors model S range 480km per charge and
perform 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds
• Electric vehicles power cost average between $25 to $60
per month
Public charging stations in San Francisco 2009
Sources: Ladepunkter i Norge Grønn bil. May 2012
http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1076380_fueling-stations-electric-cars-trump-all-other-alt-
fuel-types
www.cecorp.ca
SMART GRID AND ENERGY STORAGE SOLUTIONS
• Smart-grid solutions are critical to sufficient future power demand
• Major investment by world leading countries like China and the United States of America
(China invested in 2011 US$52.37 billion and investments are increasing by 2.58% in
2012)
• Lithium-ion battery storage technology actually adopted in smart-grid infrastructures
• Cost of technology is significantly reduced and major smart-grid projects are in
construction
• Electricity demand in China continues to grow rapidly at a rate of 8.5% annually over the
next 2 years
25
36 MWh BYD battery energy storage array at Zhangbei
Source: STG Research
• By 2014 the smart-grid market in the United States will
exceed $171.4 billion
• China’s energy storage accounts for 5% of the total
smart-grid investment program (China 5 year program to invest
approximately $50 billion per year)
www.cecorp.ca
New Tantalum Projects & Dynamics
26
Location Project Name Owner Resource Problem / Challenge
Canada, Qc,
Lac St-Jean
The Crevier
Niobium-Tantalum
72,5% MDN-
Mines
27,5% IAM Gold
25,4Mt @
0,194% Nb2O5,
234 ppm Ta2O5
Weak Nb grade compare to CBMM operation,
project is uneconomical at current metal price.
No infrastructure on site and need to build a
160km power line. MDN have also high
maintenance cost in African gold assets.
Canada, BC,
Rocky
mountains
The Blue River
Niobium-Tantalum
100% Commerce
Resources
51,7Mt @
0,1591%
Nb2O5, 192
ppm Ta2O5
Negative NPV on the project; needs higher metal
price to be viable and no infrastructure available
in the Canadian Rockies. High CAPEX .
Africa,
Mozambique The Marropino Mine
Noventa,
Currently in
Bankt;rupcy
10Mt @ 200
ppmTa2O5
Twice fail for Bankruptcy filling, very weak grade
and difficult scale-up in production.
Africa, EgyptThe Abu Dabbab
& Nuweibi
50% Gyppland
Ltd.
50% Egyptian
Gov.
48,5Mt @ 147
ppmTa2O5
Weak grade with class 7 material (radio active
materials), difficult political jurisdiction and 50%
ownership. Difficult financial situation.
Africa,
Republic of
Congo
Mayoko includes 4
licenses85% Tantalex No resource
Early stage exploration company recently listed
with no cash and already experiencing financing
difficulties.
Brazil Araxà CBMM464Mt @ 2,5%
Nb2O5
They control the Nb price market and a major
reason why the Nb-Ta carbonatite are
uneconomical with 300 years of high grade
reserves.
www.cecorp.ca
TANTALUM PRICE & DEMAND
Tantalum is an element used in many
applications in our everyday lives, to
improve technology and material
performance. These include uses in
electronics, medicine, engineering and
energy generation.
Tantalum ores are found primarily in
Australia, Canada, Brazil, and central Africa.
The average yearly growth in demand as
been about 8% to 12% per year since about
1995. Metals traders predict high tantalum
prices for the next 5 years.
Source: www.metal-pages.com
Source: www.tang.org
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
March Jun Sep Dec Feb
TANTALUM PRICE (basis 30% Ta2O5 - European Union)
Tantalum Price ($/lb)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
TANTALUM MARKET DEMAND
Mlbs Ta2O5
27
www.cecorp.ca
TANTALUM GROWING DEMAND
About half of the tantalum consumed each year is used in the
electronics industry:
• Laptops, PDA’S, iPods, MP3, etc.
• Electrical appliances
•Ticket Machines, ATM’s
• Antenna for Radar
• In car electronics such as anti-lock braking systems (ABS), navigation
systems, wheel traction control, airbag
inflation, engine management and fuel
economy.
Tantalum is also used
in medical devices:
• Heart pacemakers,
implanted auto-defibrillators
and hearing aids.
28
www.cecorp.ca
29
THANK YOU
Critical Elements Corporation1080, Côte du Beaver Hall
Suite 2101
Montreal, Quebec H2Z 1S8
T: 514.904.1496
F: 514.904.1597
Paradox Public RelationsTF: 1.866.460.0406
Philippe Marchand
The Howard GroupTF: 1.888.221.0915
www.howardgroupinc.com
Jeff Walker
Ariel Cobangbang
