Name of the Project
Monty copper/gold project.

Location
Western Australia.

Client
The Monty project is part of the Springfield Unincorporated Joint Venture, which comprises participating interests of Sandfire (as manager with a 70% interest) and Talisman Mining (30%).

Sandfire has agreed to acquire Talisman’s 30% share of Monty ore under an ore sale and purchase agreement, with all the ore from the Monty project to be processed at the De Grussa processing plant.

Project Description
A feasibility study on the Monty project has confirmed its suitability to be developed as a satellite source of high-grade ore feed for the existing DeGrussa operation.

The project has a maiden ore reserve of 920 000 t grading 8.7% copper and 1.4 g/t gold for 80 000 t of contained copper and 42 000 oz of contained gold on a 100% basis.

The mine plan incorporates the mining of the lower zone, which is the higher-grade portion of the ore reserve. 

The upper zone, while marginally economic, will be subject to further technical and economic assessment in due course. 

The feasibility study envisages the development of an underground mine, using long-hole open stoping.

The project includes the development of more than 10 km of lateral development and 500 m of vertical development. 

As with DeGrussa, further drilling of the Monty orebody will be completed from access points along the decline to assist with grade control, mine development planning and further metallurgical testwork.

Monty will produce an estimated 70 000 t of copper, 21 000 oz of gold and 288 000 oz of silver over a three-year period, following one year of access development.

Jobs to Be Created
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Project value is estimated at $90-million.

Duration
Development of the boxcut is expected to start in the second quarter of the 2018 financial year. 

Ore production is expected to start in the second quarter of the 2019 financial year, with first stoping to follow soon thereafter.

Latest Developments
Sandfire Resources and Talisman Mining have been granted environmental approval to start development activities at the Monty project.

Approval for the mining proposal, which is one of the first new projects in Western Australia to be assessed and approved under the new Mining Proposals Guidelines, was achieved in under three months.

The approval enables Yagahong Alliance to start with civils and earthmoving works on the 14-km haul road between the Monty and DeGrussa mines, as well as the boxcut for underground access.

Cutting the decline portal for the new underground mine will start in the December quarter, with underground development expected to take about one year to access first ore.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Sandfire Resources, tel +61 8 6430 3800, fax +61 8 8430 3849 or email admin@sandfire.com.