Copper Mountain Mining Corporation has announced its latest mineral resources and reserves estimates for its 75% stake in a copper mine in southern British Columbia. Based on the new reserves, the company also provided a revised mine life plan to expand production from 45,000 tonnes/day to 65,000 tonnes/day.
The latest data show that the measured and indicated resources of the Copper Mountain Mine grew to 1.1 billion tonnes, with average grades of 0.22% copper, gold 0.09g/t and silver 0.64g/t, respectively, containing 5.5 billion pounds of copper, 3.4 million ounces of gold and 23.4 million ounces of silver, respectively, an increase of 70%, 68% and 62% over previous estimates.
Of these resources, proven and probable reserves are 702 million tonnes at average grades of 0.24% copper, 0.10g/t gold and 0.71g/t silver, respectively, of which 3.7 billion pounds of copper, 2.3 million ounces of gold and 16 million ounces of silver.
Taking into account the renewed reserve base, the copper mine plan has been extended to 32 years and the expansion of 65,000 tonnes/day will begin in 2028. It is expected to produce 114 million pounds of copper, 54,000 ounces of gold and 367,000 ounces of silver per year.
The revised mine life plan also brings in $1.24 billion in after-tax net present value, up from a previous estimate of $1 billion. Increasing throughput to 65,000 tonnes/day requires an estimated initial capital cost of $237 million.
"These results illustrate the size of the Copper Mountain mine," said Gil Clausen, president and CEO of Copper Mountain Mining. "Our vast mineral reserve base underpins our latest expanded study of 65,000 tonnes/day, which estimates that total production will exceed 4.1 billion pounds of copper over a 30-year mining life." Increasing plant capacity to 65,000 per day requires only a small amount of initial development funds, which are self-financed by the mine's cash flow. In fact, the Copper Mountain mine is not only able to meet the capital required for the entire mining period but is also expected to generate significant free cash flow beyond these needs. In addition, higher levels of exploration potential remain, especially in terms of depth, which will further provide potential for reserve expansion."
With new resource updates, the company's total mineral reserve base (including the Eva copper project in Australia), currently has copper reserves of 5.4 billion pounds and gold in excess of 2.6 million ounces.
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