Name of the Project
Khoemacau copper/silver project.

Location
North-west Botswana.

Project Owner/s
Khoemacau Copper Mining (KCM), a subsidiary of Cupric Canyon Capital.

Project Description
The project entails the construction of KCM’s 3.6-million-tonne-a-year starter project, processing ore from the 91-million-tonne resource at a head grade of 2.02% copper and 21.4 g/t silver copper.

The company plans to develop the Zone 5 orebody as three separate underground mines, each producing 1.2-million tonnes a year on average for the first five years.

Each of the mines will have its own independent ramp access and operate over a strike length of about 1 000 m, extracting ore using a conventional sublevel open-stoping mining method.

The mined ore will be trucked 35 km to the Boseto processing facility, which will be refurbished and enhanced to process 3.65-million tonnes a year. Processing will be conventional sulphide flotation using three-stage crushing, ball milling and flotation, which will produce a high-quality copper concentrate grading at about 40% for shipment to African and international smelters.

The underground mine will be fully mechanised.

The project has the capacity to produce 155 000 t/y to 165 000 t/y of high-grade copper and silver concentrate, containing an estimated 60 000 t to 65 000 t of payable copper and 1.8-million to 2-million ounces of payable silver.

In addition to Zone 5 resources, there are a further 93.5-million tonnes of high-grade ore grading 1.9% copper and 33 g/t silver across the Khoemacau project. KCM plans to develop these resources in conjunction with the construction of the starter project.

The long-term plan is to expand Khoemacau to about 5.8-million tonnes a year through the expansion project, whereby a new standalone process plant will be built at Zone 5. The project is expected to produce more than 100 000 t/y of copper.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
The direct construction cost of the starter project is $397-million.

Planned Start /End Date
Underground development of Khoemacau’s Zone 5 mine started in early 2020.

First copper concentrate was produced on June 30, 2021.

KCM expects to ramp up to full production in 2022.

Latest Developments
The project is ramping up to nameplate throughput of 3.65-million tonnes a year.

The operational focus into the first quarter of 2022 is to continue the safe ramp-up of the project to full production, while progressing a bankable feasibility study on the expansion project.

The company intends going into an expression of interest, or EOI, and request for proposals, or RFP, in 2022/24 on its renewable-energy plans, as well as rolling out a host of environmental, social and governance projects, human resource training and development initiatives, and the completion of business systems, besides others.

Feasibility studies are being funded in house, with sufficient in-house financial resources available in current facilities that, through the appropriate approval process, could be used to further expand the business.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Fluor Group (engineering, procurement and construction management contract); and Ausdrill subsidiary Barminco (underground mining services contract).

Contact Details for Project Information
Cupric Canyon Capital, tel +1 480 607 6771 or email ccc@cupriccanyon.com.