Name of the Project
Pumpkin Hollow copper project.

Location
Near Yerington, Nevada, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Nevada Copper.

Project Description
A technical report has described the Pumpkin Hollow property and its advancement, based on a phased development approach of the underground and openpit deposits, as standalone projects.

The prefeasibility study (PFS) proposes the development of the openpit project independently from the underground mine currently under construction.

The openpit study envisages a phased operation with an initial mining rate of 37 000 t/d (years 1 to 6) and expanding to 70 000 t/d (years 7 to 9). Peak production is forecast at 111 000 t/y or 244-million pounds a year.

The proposed openpit project plan includes additional drilling in areas that have mineralisation open within the pit boundary, which are currently inferred resources, as well as areas where the boundary of mineralisation remains open. The openpit has been designed to be a conventional truck-and-shovel operation, with a combination of hydraulic and electric cable shovels and haul trucks.

The openpit has a mine life of 19 years.

Processing will be undertaken through a conventional flotation concentration plant and will comprise crushing and grinding circuits, followed by a flotation process to recover and upgrade copper, gold and silver from the feed material.

The 5 000 t/d underground project will produce about 60-million pounds of copper in the first five years of operations, as well as 9 000 oz of gold and 173 000 oz of silver.

Over the underground project’s 13.5-year mine life, it will average 50-million pounds of copper a year, 8 000 oz/y of gold and 15 000 oz/y of silver.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The openpit operation has an estimated pretax net present value (NPV), at a 7.5% discount rate, of $1.04-billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 23%, with a payback of 4.5 years. Together, the underground and openpit operations have a pretax NPV, at a 7.5% discount rate, of $1.32-million and an IRR of 24%.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital expenditure for the openpit is estimated at $627-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The timing of the openpit construction and operations remains flexible.

Latest Developments
Nevada Copper has started cutting back on costs, including reducing its contractor workforce, after its Pumpkin Hollow underground copper mine encountered operational and geotechnical challenges.

The company reported on June 6 that access to planned stopes for June and July had been delayed, owing to an unidentified weak rock structure being encountered in the main ramp to the East South zone that required additional drilling and geotechnical mitigation work to reinforce the area before proceeding.

“This, together with the limited access to the main ramp, slower-than-planned development and longer backfill cycles, has resulted in lower-than-anticipated development ore production. These challenges have caused an expected delay of most of the stope ore production until August,” Nevada Copper has explained.

The company, however, is continuing with the development of its priority heading through the dike structure and into the East North mining zone. The East North zone is the biggest mining area within the underground mine and is expected to have significantly higher copper grades and better geotechnical conditions, compared with the East South zone.

The second crossing will be completed by the end of June to allow for subsequent access to the bigger and higher-grade stoping areas within the East North zone.

While the contractor workforce is being reduced to save costs, the company has said that it will continue to advance on the second dike crossing and openpit prefeasibility study and drilling.

Nevada Copper has reported that Pala Investments, its biggest shareholder, has agreed to provide additional funding of up to $20-million, pursuant to a promissory note. Draws by the company are subject to agreed use of proceeds and the company reaching satisfactory arrangements with certain creditors and vendors. The promissory note has a maturity date of December 31, 2023, and bears interest at 8% a year on amounts drawn.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Golder Associates, Sedgman and Tetra Tech Inc (openpit PFS and technical report) and Redpath USA (mining contractor).

Contact Details for Project Information
Nevada Copper Corp, email info@nevadacopper.com.