Name and Location
Kitumba copper project, Zambia.

Client
Blackthorn Resources.

Project Description
An optimised prefeasibility study (OPFS) has significantly optimised the Kitumba project’s economics and development potential. The OPFS is based on a total measured and indicated mineral resource of 34.7-million tonnes at 29% copper for a total of 795 000 t of copper.

The OPFS has opted for a three-million-tonne-a-year production rate at a stope design cutoff of 1% as the preferred mining production rate. This results in a production mine life of 11 years, producing an average of 58 000 t/y of contained copper in ore.

The mined ore will be processed through a concentrator that includes conventional comminution and flotation to produce a sulphide rougher concentrate and a rougher tail containing the nonflotable copper. The sulphide concentrate will be treated through a pressure oxidation (POX) leach. The POX produces acid and ferric iron as part of the process. This will be used to leach the copper in flotation tails in an atmospheric leach circuit. The resulting copper-rich solution will be fed into a conventional solvent extraction and electrowinning plant.

The combined plant will produce up to 70 000 t/y of copper cathode at full capacity.

The OPFS assumes that the copper cathode is exported directly to customers through the Port of Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania.

Value
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $680-million, including $185-million for the engineering, procurement and construction management contractor, owner’s costs and contingency.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The results of the OPFS have demonstrated a mining and processing development route for the project with robust economics.

Blackthorn has started working on the next phase of development and value-adding activities. This includes additional drilling focused on collecting further geotechnical data, hydrological information and metallurgical samples.

The company expects to run confirmatory testwork on the flowsheet proposed in the OPFS and provide the necessary data to support a definitive feasibility study (DFS).

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Blackthorn Resources, tel + 61 2 9357 9000, fax +61 2 9332 1336 or email info@blackthornresources.com.au.