PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior metals developer Avanco Resources has reported an 18% increase in the mineral resource at its Pedra Branca copper project, in Brazil.
The company on Monday announced that the deposit was estimated to host about 18.58-million tonnes of ore, grading at 2.45% copper for 454 000 t of contained metal and 363 000 oz of silver. Some 7.96-million tonnes of this resource was classified as indicated, accounting for 224 000 t of copper metal.
The increase in the resource estimate resulted from an infill drilling programme of 11 holes, and exceeded management’s target for converting 50% of the resource into the indicated resource category.
The Pedra Branca project is Avanco’s second project, and is located about 50 km from the Antas North project.
A scoping study was currently under way for the project, which was expected to lead to a decision to mine before the end of the year. A prefeasibility study would also be completed by the first quarter of next year.