PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper hopeful Rex Minerals has been granted a 12-month extension to submit its environment protection and rehabilitation programme and its social management plan for the Hillside project, in South Australia.
Rex had applied to the South Australian Department of State Development for the extension owing to the downturn in global copper, gold and iron-ore prices.
The company said on Friday that it would use the extension period to further engage with the state government, regional community and other stakeholders on the details of the Hillside project, while developing its environment protection and rehabilitation programme, as well as components of the social management plan.
A recent extended feasibility study into the Hillside copper project estimated that the project would require a capital investment of A$480-million to support a six-million-tonne-a-year operation, with a 13-year mine life.
The average production over the first 12 years of operation was expected to be 129 000 t/y of copper concentrate, containing 30 000 t/y of copper and 24 000 t/y of gold.