Name of the Project
Carrapateena copper/gold sublevel cave project.
Location
The project is located in South Australia’s highly prospective Gawler Craton.
Client
OZ Minerals.
Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) on the Carrapateena orebody has affirmed the outcomes of a scoping study completed in early 2016. The PFS has demonstrated that the project is technically and financially viable, with a risk and opportunity profile that is competitive with, or better than, other global long-life copper assets at a similar stage of development.
The study envisages a four-million-tonne-a-year sublevel cave mining operation, with an average copper equivalent grade of 2.31% in ore milled.
The project includes the construction of a conventional copper concentrate treatment plant (CTP) producing an estimated 66 000 t/y of copper and 82 000 oz/y of gold for the first three years of full production, and averages of an estimated 61 000 t of copper and 63 000 oz/y of gold over the life-of-mine.
Carrapateena has a 20-year mine life.
Jobs to be Created
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value (NPV), at a 9.5% discount rate, of about
A$770-million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 20% on an unlevered, post-tax basis at consensus pricing.
Excluding the one-off deferred consideration payment of $50-million, the project has an NPV of about A$820-million and IRR of about 21%.
The project has a short four-year capital payback from start of production.
Value
The project has a preproduction capital cost of about A$980-million, including the CTP, owner’s cost and contingency.
Duration
The PFS proposes a fast-tracked development programme to enable first production by the second quarter of 2019.
Latest Developments
A 2016 drilling programme at the Carrapateena copper/gold project has increased Oz Minerals’ confidence in the project.
The drilling programme has resulted in an updated mineral resource estimate of 134-million tonnes, grading 1.5% copper, 0.6 g/t gold and 6.5 g/t silver, with 46% of the resource falling within the measured classification.
Given the confidence Oz Minerals now has in the mineral resource estimate at Carrapateena, no further resource drilling will be completed from surface.
The next round of drilling will be conducted from underground in late 2017, as the decline progresses, meaning drilling costs will also decrease.
Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.
On Budget and on Time?
None stated.
Contact Details for Project Information
OZ Minerals tel +61 8 8229 6600, fax +61 8 8229 6601 or email info@ozminerals.com.