PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Base metals miner Metals X on Thursday said that it remained on track to reach its strategic objective of increasing output at the Nifty copper mine, in Western Australia, to 40 000 t/y of copper in concentrate by the end of 2018, despite the delay in the timing of the production ramp-up at the mine.
Metals X took control of the Nifty project in August 2016, and has been working since then to increase the production rate to create a large-scale, long-life mine with a yearly production rate of more than 40 000 t/y of contained copper in concentrate.
To date, Metals X has increased the ore reserve, resulting in the mine life extending from one year to around six years, while also refurbishing the site infrastructure and equipment, while progressively ramping up underground mining and development activities.
The company has also started continuous operations at the process plant.
Metals X said on Thursday that the Nifty operation did not require any further significant capital investment to achieve its strategic output objectives, with the company’s current focus being the implementation and delivery of the plan to ensure a successful production ramp-up.
The Nifty operation was expected to match its March quarterly ore production in the June quarter, despite the loss of around 45 000 t of production due to the replacement of the underground conveyor, Metals X said.
However, the June quarter copper-in-concentrate production would likely be lower than the 5 003 t of copper in concentrate produced in the March quarter, as a result of ongoing grade dilution within the historic checkerboard area.
The overall grade of the ore will improve as additional stopes progressively come on line outside the current checkerboard.