Photo by: Bloomberg
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – London-listed Weatherly International reported on Tuesday that the development of its flagship Tschudi opencut copper project, in Namibia, would likely cost 10% less than was stated in the 2012 bankable feasibility study (BFS).
The BFS, which was completed in December 2012, resulted in a net present value of $105-million based on an average life-of-mine (LoM) copper price of $6 067/t copper.
Weatherly said the main input costs, including mining and crushing rates, power and acid, were, on the basis of agreed contracts, about 10% below those assumed in the BFS in dollar terms.
“It is good to see that, a year on, there has actually been a reduction in the main Tschudi cost inputs and, with current copper prices still above the LoM average price used in the BFS, there should be no overall erosion in project value,” Weatherly CEO Rod Webster said.
Construction at Tschudi started in November, with the company targeting the start of production in the second quarter of 2015.
Weatherly said it was preparing to update the market on the project's financial status compared with the results of the BFS during the second quarter of 2014.