Name of the Project
Copper Mountain mine expansion.

Location
Southern British Columbia, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Copper Mountain Mining.

Project Description
Copper Mountain Mining has announced a new life-of-mine (LoM) plan for the mine, which includes a proposed mill expansion to 65 000 t/d.

The Copper Mountain mill flowsheet is currently a conventional two-stage crushing, semiautogenous grinding (SAG), pebble crusher, ball milling and sulphide flotation circuit design.

The current capacity supports 40 000 t/d of ore processing.  The 45 000 t/d expansion that is under way will add a third ball mill in parallel with the two existing ball mills. 

The 65 000 t/d expansion plan includes the installation of a high-pressure grinding roll circuit, the addition of a fourth ball mill, a regrind verti-mill, additional rougher and cleaner flotation circuit capacity, and electrical system upgrades.

The existing SAG mill will be retired. The fourth ball mill, a 7 m x 12 m mill, will be installed adjacent to the third ball mill within the existing building. With the addition of the fourth ball mill, the ball milling line will comprise four mills operating in parallel – two identical 7 m x 9 m mills, and two identical 7 m x

12 m mills. This work will allow for increased throughput and a grind size P80 of 165 µm.  

The 65 000 t/d expansion will not require an additional mining fleet, as the existing fleet produces sufficient ore supply to feed the concentrator at the planned milling rates.

Total ore mined is expected to be 400-million tonnes and total waste mined is expected to be 671-million tonnes, with a strip ratio of 1.68. Using average recoveries of 85.4% for copper, 66.1% for gold and 66.2% for silver, total production is expected to be two-billion pounds of copper, 978 000 oz of gold and 6.7-million ounces of silver.

The mine life is estimated to be 21 years, including three years for processing stockpiled ore. Copper Mountain believes that the potential exists to increase LoM production further by converting resources to reserves and increasing resources through further exploration.

Copper Mountain has proven and probable mineral reserves of 462.34-million tonnes grading 0.23% copper, 0.10 g/t gold and 0.72 g/t silver.

Measured and indicated resources are estimated at 654.4-million tonnes grading 0.22% copper, 0.1 g/t gold and 0.68 g/t silver. Inferred resources are estimated at 323.5-million tonnes grading 0.2% copper, 0.1 g/t gold and 0.5 g/t silver.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $1.01-billion.

Capital Expenditure
Total LoM expansionary capital, including for the 45 000 t/d mill expansion planned for 2021 and the integration of New Ingerbelle operation, is estimated to be $204-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Construction is expected to be completed at the end of 2023 for commissioning in the beginning of 2024.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Copper Mountain Mining, tel +1 604 682 2992.