JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Emerging copper miner Cupric Africa has set its sights on developing a new underground copper mine in Botswana, with work under way to firm up the bankable feasibility study (BFS) and map out the next step for the company’s Khoemacau copper/silver exploration project.

At the beginning of 2013, US-based Cupric Canyon Capital acquired all the remaining shares it did not already own in Canadian junior miner Hana Mining for C$67-million, taking control of Botswana-based Hana Ghanzi Copper.

Since then, Cupric’s Africa-based arm had been quietly working towards evolving into a copper producing company and starting the multimillion-dollar development of the subsequently renamed Khoemacau mine into an underground operation within the Kalahari copperbelt.

Speaking to Mining Weekly Online, Cupric Africa CEO Sam Rasmussen said that, by July, the company would be ready to unveil more accurate expectations of the emerging mine, its capacity and an updated mineral resource, as well as the design, construction and operational phases and the related development costs.

A mining application had been submitted to the relevant Botswana authorities.

The plan was to have the two-year construction activities kick off during 2016, with the mine to start producing copper just in time to fill an expected copper deficit in 2018.

Cupric Africa head of human resources Clare Calver explained that the company already had a strong presence in Maun, with about 60 mostly local employees, including administration support staff, human resources and engineers, besides others, already on the ground, as exploration drilling on site continued.

The focus was now on completing the drilling programme and additional work for the BFS, which was completed in September.

A 2010 National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate for the project, undertaken by Hana Mining, showed an indicated mineral resource – all from the Banana zone – of 585-million pounds of copper and 12-million ounces of silver from 19.7-million tonnes at a grade of 1.35% copper and 19.7 g/t silver.

The estimate also revealed inferred resources of 2.4-billion pounds of copper and 40.6-million ounces of silver from 91.2-million tonnes.

The project was expected to benefit from proposed rail projects, access to roads and water and power infrastructure expansions, with the 600 MW expansion of the government-owned Morupule power plant set to come on line by 2018.