Name and Location
Los Calatos copper project, Peru.

Client
Metminco.

Project Description
A mining study completed on the Los Calatos project has shown that the development of the project is economic using the current long-term consensus price for copper of $3/lb (median consensus price post-2019).

The proposed mine development is based on a resource estimate of a 94-million-tonne mineable quantity out of a total mineral resource of 129-million tonnes, grading 0.88% copper and 0.05% molybdenum.

The project envisages a six-million-tonne-a-year underground mining operation using a sublevel caving method.

Average life-of-mine (LoM) production is estimated at 45 000 t/y of copper concentrate over 17 years.

The project has a short mine development lead time, with production from underground starting only 150 m below surface.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $285-million and a payback of 5.3 years.

Value
Preproduction capital expenditure is estimated at $650-million, including contingencies of $111-million.

Duration
Construction will be undertaken over a period of 18 to 24 months.

Latest Developments
Based on the results of the mining study, Metminco will initiate a development programme that progresses the Los Calatos project from prefeasibility to feasibility, subject to the availability of funding.

Further, an infill drilling programme has been planned to advance the current mineral resource to the measured and indicated mineral resource categories for that part of the mineral resource that is to be mined in the first ten years of the LoM.

The drill programme will also facilitate the collection of appropriate metallurgical samples, in addition to geotechnical and hydrogeological information required for the development of the underground mining operation.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Metminco, tel +61 2 9460 1856, fax +61 2 9460 1857 or email info@metminco.com.au.