TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Inmet Mining president and COO Jochen Tilk refused to be drawn on Wednesday on what he expected the final capital expenditure figure for the company's Petaquilla project, in Panama, to look like.

Inmet has finalised all the design work for the mine and plans to complete a front-end engineering and design (Feed) study by the end of this year.

The company took over sole ownership of the copper/gold/molybdenum asset last year, after it bought Petaquilla Copper and a third partner, Teck Resources, sold its 26% holding to Inmet for about $30-million.

In February 2008, initial results from a Feed study under way at the time indicated that the Petaquilla project could cost a whopping C$3,5-billion to build – a big leap from the previous estimate of $1,7-billion.

On a conference call with analysts and investors on Wednesday, Tilk commented that the company will be using current quotes for materials, equipment and services, and will also be incorporating scope changes – such as an expected throughput increase to 150 000 t/d from the previous 120 000-t/d plan.

However, beyond that, “I won't comment at all”, he said.

The Petaquilla project, which Inmet says could start production in 2014 if permitting goes smoothly, is expected to produce an average of 275 000 t of copper for the first ten years of operation.

The company is currently working on a mineral reserve statement, but expects that the deposit will support a mine life of at least 30 years.

Inmet is currently in talks with “a large international power company” on potentially developing a coal-fired plant in parallel with the mine's construction, to supply the operation's power needs, Tilk said.

The firm has also said it is looking for a strategic partner to help fund development, and continues to meet with prospective parties.

“We do want to develop that partnership sooner than later,” said CEO Richard Ross.

The finalising of a strategic partnership agreement and financial plan for the development of the mine will need to be in place before a final project decision is made, he said.

Inmet has said it will consider selling a direct stake in the Petaquilla project, offtake-based financing with future potential customers and the development banks of the respective countries, or even a direct investment at a company level.

Shares in the company, which has mines in Spain, Turkey, Finland and Canada, as well as a stake in the Ok Tedi mine, in Papua New Guinea, fell 6,55% on Wednesday, to C$42,09 apiece by 13:37 in Toronto.

On Tuesday, the firm said it earned C$66,53-million in the second quarter, compared with C$67,71-million a year earlier, after lower metal prices and sales volumes weighed on profit.

Lower copper and zinc prices reduced sales by C$57-million in the quarter, compared with the second quarter of 2008, although this was partly offset by higher gold and other metal prices.

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