PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior Brockman Mining has pulled the plug on its proposed Damajianshan copper mine, in China, after reporting an impairment of some HK$200-million at the project for the year ended June 30.
Brockman attributes the impairment charge to the recent sustained copper price weakness and potential increases in capital expenditure at the mine to meet new local requirements for environmental protection.
The Damajianshan mine covers some 3.76 km2 and has a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant reserve of 7.6-million tonnes of ore, with an average copper grade of 1.46%. It has the potential to produce more than 429 000 t/y of copper, over a mine life of 18 years.
Dual-listed Brockman has now decided to focus its resources to develop its core iron-ore mining projects in Western Australia, which include the Marillana project.
The company has also moved a step closer to securing rail access for the Marillana project after a High Court decision.
In 2013, Brockman submitted a proposal for access to below-rail infrastructure owned by The Pilbara Infrastructure (TPI). TPI subsequently launched legal proceedings, first in the Supreme Court of Western Australia and then in the Appeals Court, challenging the validity of Brockman’s access proposal.
After losing its Appeals Court challenge, TPI, in a last ditch effort, appealed to the High Court of Australia for special leave to appeal the Appeals Court judgment. However, the High Court has now refused this application, exhausting TPI’s avenues of appeal.