TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Africa-focused miner Mawson West has boosted confidence in its Kapulo mine project, located in the south-eastern corner of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after it on Wednesday released the results of an updated reserve estimate that had moved 86% of the total mineral reserves into the proven category.
About 15 km from the Zambia border and sandwiched between Lake Mweru and Lake Tanganyika, Perth, Australia-based Mawson West said the Kapulo reserves across the three planned openpits were now estimated to total 3.4-million tonnes, grading 3.72% copper in the proven category, and 546 000 t, grading 3.23% copper in the probable reserve category.
The Kapulo mine project comprised the Shaba, Safari North and Safari South deposits.
The total reserves of 3.94-million tonnes with an average grade of 3.65% copper would be sufficient to support a 6.3-year mine life, during which the operation would recover about 122 000 t of red metal in concentrate at a rate of 19 400 t/y.
At the end of the mine's life, an additional 653 000 t, grading 1.05% copper, or 6 800 t of contained copper, would remain in low-grade stockpiles, which had not been accounted for in the reserve estimates.
Life-of-mine (LoM) C1 cash costs were estimated at $1.92/lb of copper produced.
Using a base case copper price of $7 100/t over the LoM, the National Instrument 43-101-compliant report estimated undiscounted free cash flow from the project, as of December 1, of $224-million (after tax, excluding remaining construction costs) on a 100% ownership and 100% equity funded basis.
The report calculated a net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $156-million.
Mawson West said plant commissioning was currently under way, with first output expected during the first quarter of 2015.