Name and Location
Ajax copper/gold project, British Columbia, Canada.

Client
The project is being developed by KGHM Ajax Mining, a joint venture with TSX-V-listed Abacus Mining & Exploration, which holds a 20% in the subsidiary.

Project Description
The proposed mine plan envisages a conventional openpit operation producing 60 000 t/d, with development being undertaken in seven stages.

The longest span of the pit will be about 2.6 km in an east–west direction and an estimated 1.4 km in a north–south direction.

The mine plan is based on the extraction of 503-million tonnes of ore for processing during 23 years of operation at an overall stripping ratio of 2.4:1 waste to ore.

An elevated cutoff strategy will be employed. This will result in four stockpiles, three of which are planned to be treated. The fourth stockpile represents potential project upside and might be processed in times of higher commodity prices. A conventional truck-and-shovel fleet will be used, in conjunction with an in-pit crush-and-convey system from the seventh year. Mining will be conducted on 12 m benches. Drill-and-blast will be required. Horizontal drains are proposed as the primary means to depressurise potential bench-scale wedge and planar failures.

In-pit water will be removed through ditches, pipes, sumps, pumps and booster pumps. The construction of two waste-rock storage facilities is planned on the north and east side of the pit.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The overall estimated capital cost is $795-million.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
KGHM has submitted an environmental permit application for its Ajax project.

“This is an important milestone for the Ajax project. Our team has worked for more than a year to prepare the application. We believe our application meets the high standards expected of the Ajax project and we look forward to moving into the formal review stage,” KGHM Ajax CEO Marcin Mostowy has said.

The application document comprises more than 18 000 pages, including 39 individual "valued components" that have been studied as part of the application.

KGHM expects to obtain all necessary permits for the project in late 2016 or early 2017.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
KGHM external affairs manager Yves Lacasse, tel +1 250 374 5446.