TSX- and NYSE-listed Hudbay Minerals has wrapped up the permitting process for the Rosemont mine in Arizona, having received the approved mine plan of operations (MPO) from the US Forest Service.
The issuance of the MPO is the final administrative step in the permitting process.
“With the receipt of the Section 404 Water Permit, an agreement to consolidate 100% ownership and receipt of the approved MPO, Hudbay continues to move the project forward. Rosemont is now a fully permitted, shovel-ready copper project and we look forward to developing this world-class asset,” president and CEO Alan Hair commented this week.
Rosemont is expected to produce about 127 000 t/y of copper at a cash cost of $1.14/lb over the first ten years of operations.
Wheaton Precious Metals, which has a precious metals purchase agreement on the Rosemont project, in exchange for an upfront cash payment of $230-million, congratulated Hudbay for completing the permitting process.
"We applaud the hard work and patience Hudbay has put forth in order to advance the Rosemont project to this stage," said Wheaton president and CEO Randy Smallwood.
"With their most recent successful construction of the Constancia mine in Peru, the Hudbay team has proven themselves to be strong and responsible mine developers, and we are excited about the same team moving this project into production. Rosemont is an ideal fit for Wheaton's portfolio of high-quality assets, and when it is in production, it should add well over 50 000 gold equivalent ounces to our already growing production profile."
Hudbay acquired the Rosemont project in July 2014 through the acquisition of Augusta Resources. The company recently bought out its minority partner for $75-million to simply the ownership structure ahead of a search for a new development partner.