Mining & Industrial · Maine
Mine Feasibility Study in Maine
Longmire & Co. writes mine feasibility studies for operators, developers, and investors working on zinc-copper VMS, industrial minerals, lithium projects in Maine. Our job is to tell you, clearly and honestly, whether the project in front of you actually makes sense to build — before you spend the kind of money on it that's hard to get back.
The Maine setting
Northern New England metallogenic belt with revived lithium interest. The question for a feasibility study isn't whether mineralization exists — it's whether the deposit, the access, and the processing path together support a project that can actually be built and financed.
Maine's metallic mineral mining rules from 2017 onward are the gating regulatory issue for any new project. A useful report works through each of those pieces in order: how confident we are in the resource, how it would be mined, what we expect to recover, what it will cost to build, what it will cost to run, and what the project is worth at the end if commodity prices and costs come in around where they sit today.
Permitting and approvals in Maine
State permitting in Maine runs through Maine DEP, with federal agencies involved when federal land, water, or listed species come into the picture. For a feasibility study, the important part isn't the list of permits — it's a realistic schedule: which permit has to come first, how long similar projects have taken, and what kind of bond or financial assurance the project will need to post.
Maine's metallic mineral mining rules from 2017 onward are the gating regulatory issue for any new project. The report addresses each of these directly — including a reasonable timeline, a working estimate of the bonding requirement, and a clear look at what a permitting delay would do to the project's return.
Built for lenders and investors
A bankable feasibility study in Maine has a specific audience: the lenders, project finance teams, and equity partners who will commit capital based on what's in the report. That audience expects independent work, defensible commodity price assumptions, clear recovery and dilution figures, sensitivity tables that show how the project performs at the edges, and an honest treatment of permitting timeline risk.
In the first conversation, we'll be straightforward about whether the project calls for a scoping-level study, a pre-feasibility study (PFS), or a full bankable feasibility study (BFS) — because the cost and timeline for each is meaningfully different, and you shouldn't be paying for more report than the situation calls for.
Frequently asked
What level of feasibility study do I need for a Maine mining project?
It depends on who the report is for. A scoping study is enough for an internal decision on whether to keep spending on exploration. A pre-feasibility study (PFS) is the right step when you're showing the project to potential financial partners but aren't yet ready for a final investment decision. A bankable feasibility study (BFS) is what a lender or equity partner will expect before committing capital. We'll help you figure out which one your project actually needs.
How do you handle permitting timing in the financial model?
Honestly, and out in the open. We build a real schedule for the Maine DEP process — plus any federal coordination — and then show what a six, twelve, or twenty-four month delay would do to the project's NPV and IRR. That way the timing risk is visible to everyone reading the report.
What commodities and operations do you cover in Maine?
We cover zinc-copper VMS, industrial minerals, lithium projects in Maine — from new development to expansion of an existing operation to in-situ recovery where it applies. The basic structure of the report is the same; the commodity and process details get adapted to the specific project.
Is your report suitable for project finance use?
Yes. Our bankable studies are written specifically to be relied on by lenders, project finance teams, and equity partners. That includes independent treatment of the resource, defensible commodity price assumptions, clear recovery and dilution figures, line-item capital and operating cost build-ups, sensitivity tables, and a candid risk register.