Name and Location
Cloncurry copper/gold project, Queensland, Australia.

Client
Altona Mining.

Project Description
The Cloncurry project has a resource of 287-million tonnes at 0.6% copper, 0.04 g/t of gold for 1.65-million tonnes contained copper and 400 000 oz of gold.

The aim is to develop a mine at Little Eva, the largest of 11 deposits located within the Cloncurry project.

A definitive feasibility study (DFS), announced by Altona in March 2014 for the Little Eva development, envisages the construction of a seven-million-tonne-a-year openpit mine and flotation plant capable of producing 39 000 t/y of copper and 17 000 oz/y of gold over an initial mine life of 11 years.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
According to the DFS, the project has a real pretax net present value, at a 7.5% discount rate, of A$346-million and an internal rate of return of 29%.

Value
According to the DFS, the development of Little Eva will cost A$294-million.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
A pit optimisation study on the recently discovered Turkey Creek deposit, which is situated about 1.5 km from the planned Little Eva openpit mine and is within Altona’s granted mining leases, has indicated that the deposit has the potential to add up to two-and-a-half years to the mine life of the proposed Little Eva project.

The Turkey Creek deposit is estimated to host an oxide and sulphide mineral resource of 17.3-million tonnes, grading 0.51% copper for 87 000 t of contained copper. If only sulphide ore is considered, the mineral resource comprises 10.6-million tonnes, grading 0.47% copper for 50 000 t of contained copper.

“The study demonstrates that the Little Eva mine life will easily exceed 11 years and that the mining and treatment of copper oxide mineralisation through the proposed Little Eva plant, even at low recoveries, could add significant value to the project,” Altona MD Alistair Cowden has said.

“Numerous deposits in the wider Cloncurry project have oxide caps and Altona will report on all oxide resources in the coming months.”

Altona recently inked a A$345-million joint venture (JV) agreement with Chinese road, bridge and rail construction company Sichuan Railway Investment Group with regard to the company’s copper/gold projects, in north-west Queensland, including Little Eva.

The proposed JV will consider developing a significant inventory of oxide across the project, further enhancing the attractiveness of the copper development project.

Meanwhile, metallurgical drilling, definitive testwork, geotechnical and mine design studies at Turkey Creek will be undertaken in the coming months to bring the deposit’s mineral resource into ore reserve status.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Altona Mining, tel +61 8 9485 2929, fax +61 8 9486 8700 or email altona@altonamining.com.