Name of the Project
Copper Mountain mine expansion.

Location
Southern British Columbia, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Copper Mountain Mining.

Project Description
Copper Mountain Mining has announced a new life-of-mine (LoM) plan, which includes a proposed mill expansion to 65 000 t/d.

The Copper Mountain mill flowsheet is currently a conventional two-stage crushing, semiautogenous grinding (SAG), pebble crusher, ball milling and sulphide flotation circuit design.

The current capacity supports 40 000 t/d of ore processing.  The 45 000 t/d expansion that is under way will add a third ball mill in parallel with the two existing ball mills. 

The 65 000 t/d expansion plan, including the integration of New Ingerbelle, involves the installation of a high-pressure grinding roll circuit, the addition of a fourth ball mill, a regrind verti-mill, additional rougher and cleaner flotation circuit capacity, as well as electrical system upgrades.

The existing SAG mill will be retired. The fourth ball mill of 7 m x 12 m will be installed adjacent to the third ball mill in the existing building. This addition will result in the ball milling line’s comprising four mills operating in parallel – two identical 7 m x 9 m mills, and two identical 7 m x 12 m mills. This work will allow for increased throughput and a grind size P80 of 165 µm.  

The 65 000 t/d expansion will not require an additional mining fleet, as the existing fleet produces sufficient ore supply to feed the concentrator at the planned milling rates.

Total ore mined is expected to be 400-million tonnes and total waste mined is expected to be 671-million tonnes, with a strip ratio of 1.68. Using average recoveries of 85.4% for copper, 66.1% for gold and 66.2% for silver, total production is expected to be two-billion pounds of copper, 978 000 oz of gold and 6.7-million ounces of silver.

The mine life is estimated to be 21 years, including three years for processing stockpiled ore. Copper Mountain believes that the potential exists to increase LoM production further by converting resources to reserves and increasing resources through further exploration.

Copper Mountain has proven and probable mineral reserves of 462.34-million tonnes grading 0.23% copper, 0.10 g/t gold and 0.72 g/t silver.

Measured and indicated resources are estimated at 654.4-million tonnes grading 0.22% copper, 0.1 g/t gold and 0.68 g/t silver. Inferred resources are estimated at 323.5-million tonnes grading 0.2% copper, 0.1 g/t gold and 0.5 g/t silver.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $1.01-billion.

Capital Expenditure
Total LoM expansionary capital, including for the 45 000 t/d mill expansion planned for 2021 and the integration of New Ingerbelle operation, is estimated to be $204-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Construction of the 65 000 t/d expansion is targeted for the end of 2023, with commissioning slated for 2024.

Latest Developments
Copper Mountain Mining has completed the expansion of its Copper Mountain mine with the commissioning of the third ball mill.

“We are pleased to announce the start of commissioning of the new ball mill on schedule. With electrical commissioning . . . [having started], we plan to introduce slurry to the mill next month, with ramp-up to full production expected this year,” CEO and president Gil Clausen has said.

“This is the first step in our multi-phase growth plans to achieve our vision to triple our annual production rate from 2020 levels in the next five years. Our development plan for our low-cost and high-return-on-investment capital projects includes continuing to expand the Copper Mountain mine, advancing our Eva copper project, in Australia, and continued exploration on all of our properties.”

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Copper Mountain Mining, tel +1 604 682 2992.