Australian lithium miner Galaxy Resources has increased the capital expenditure (capex) estimate of its Sal de Vida project, but has significantly reduced the capital cost payback period and now expects “much more attractive” financial returns from the project in Argentina’s Puna region. The company on Monday published the results of a revised definitive feasibility study (DFS) for Sal de Vida, which increased capex to $375.5-milion, compared with a 2013 study estimate of $369-million. However, the revised DFS has reduced the payback period from four years and seven months in the original DFS to two years and ten months, while improving the net present value to $1.42-billion at an 8% discount rate, compared with $565-million in 2013.
