Zonia Copper Oxide Project, Arizona
PEA 2018
Highlights
The base case uses a $2.00/lb designed pit shell with a grade cutoff of 0.17% total copper. At a copper price of $3.00/lb the economics are:
- After-tax NPV8% and IRR of $ 177 million and 29 %, respectively, with a 2.89 year payback of initial capital
- Initial capital of $198 million
- Cumulative Net Cash Flow After Taxes of $331 million
The PEA was prepared by Global Resource Engineering Ltd. ("GRE") of Denver, Colorado, in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) NI 43-101. GRE reported on the scoping-level capital and operating costs, and project economics associated with the potential development of the Zonia copper oxide project.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that PEA results will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
The full report is available on SEDAR or can be downloaded using the link below.
Details
The following table summarizes the main aspects of the PEA study:
PRODUCTION PROFILE | |
|---|---|
Total Tons Leached | 92.6 million |
Head Grade | 0.30% |
Mine Life | 8.6 years |
Payback Period | 2.89 years |
Mill throughput | 30,000 tpd |
Copper Recovery (oxide) | 73% |
Copper Recovery (transition) | 70% |
Total Copper Recovered | 421.5 million lbs |
Average Annual Production | 49.1 million lbs |
| Life of Mine Strip Ratio | 0.6 |
OPERATING COSTS ($1.46/lb Cu total) | |
Mining Costs | $0.64/lb of copper |
Processing Costs | $0.74/lb of copper |
G&A | $0.08/lb of copper |
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS ($138.8M total) | |
Initial Capital | $198million |
Sustaining Capital | $40.8 million |
Sensitivities
GRE evaluated the after-tax NPV@10% sensitivity to changes in copper price, capital costs, and operating costs. The base case project scenario produces 92.6 million tons of leachable material over an 8.6-year mine life. The project is most sensitive to copper price, then operating costs, then capital costs.
