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Feasibility studies are usually conducted in stages (phases) and are a vital component of the path from resource discovery to profitable operation. Phosphate Consulting LLC offers a staged approach to feasibility studies which provides several advantages to the client: 1) it minimizes cost; 2) allows for the early identification and evaluation of technical issues and processing alternatives; 3) facilitates risk assessment of identified technical issues; and 4) provides the owner with an early estimate of the capital investment, which is an essential component for evaluating economic viability. Our approach carries out technical and financial studies at three levels, which are known by various titles, but the most common and those typically offered by Phosphate Consulting LLC are:
- Scoping Study (SS): Also called a conceptual or pre-feasibility study and carried out very early in the project life with relatively limited data/information. It is often used to assess the potential of the project and as a basis for deciding whether to invest in the project going forward.
- Feasibility Study (FS): Sometimes called an enabling feasibility study and often follows a scoping study. It is carried out at an intermediate level when preliminary data on most project aspects has been developed. The data generated in a FS should be sufficient to support realistic estimates of capital and operating costs, project profitability, environmental impact, and project risks. Most importantly, the FS provides the basis for determining whether or not to commit the large expenditure and effort required for the subsequent bankable feasibility study.
- Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS): The BFS is the final feasibility study prior to committing to a project and involves the finalization of all project elements. A BFS may contain all the elements of a feasibility study, but in much greater detail. It often must meet specified standards, such as JORC (Australian) or CIM (Canada) for quantifying the resource and, in some cases, must also meet SEC standards, such as NI 43-101 (Canada). Typically, a BFS is often subjected to a full independent audit if the financing is to be funded outside of the ownership group.
One of the more important aspects of any type of feasibility study is the estimation of capital cost, particularly when considering that the quality of the cost estimate required for a project increases as the project becomes better defined and the project continuation costs become greater. Phosphate Consulting LLC utilizes the AACE International standards for estimating the capital costs of a project. Typical capital cost accuracies for the three study levels listed above, summarized from AACE guidelines, are listed below.
- Scoping Study: +/- 35% to 45%
- Feasibility Study: +/- 20% to 30%
- Bankable Feasibility Study: +/- 10% to 15%
Over the last 41 years, Phosphate Consulting LLC team members have participated in the development of phosphate mining, beneficiation, phosphoric acid, and fertilizer plants located throughout the world. Examples of feasibility studies and phosphate development projects performed by Phosphate Consulting LLC team members are given below.
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