Name of the Project
San Matias copper/gold/silver project.

Location
The project is located Puerto Libertador, Department of Córdoba, Colombia.

Project Owner/s
Cordoba Minerals.

Project Description
A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the project has outlined a conventional openpit mining operation, comprising a main openpit mine at the Aldcran deposit and smaller openpit mines at the Montiel East, Montiel West and Costa Azul satellite deposits.

The project is based on 119.1-million tonnes of modelled mill feed grading 0.45% copper, 0.26 g/t gold and 2.41 g/t silver, supporting a 23-year mine life.

The PEA includes a centralised processing plant and tailings management facility located directly adjacent to the Alacran pit.

The PEA envisions that the Alacran and satellite pits will be mined using conventional drill, blast and shovel/truck openpit mining methods, with mining activities being performed by a contractor-owned mining fleet for Year 1 to Year 5 of operation, and switching to an owner-operated fleet in Year 6 and onward.

The process plant has been designed as a conventional milling operation with an initial nameplate capacity of 8 000 t/d, increasing to 16 000 t/d following a planned processing plant expansion completed at the beginning of Year 6.

The conceptual plant design includes a gravity separation circuit for initial precious metals recovery before a conventional froth flotation circuit.

The PEA assumes that the plant will produce gold/silver doré bars on site and a copper concentrate containing the remaining precious metals by-products. The copper concentrate is expected to contain very low levels of deleterious elements, such as arsenic and lead.

Life-of-mine production is estimated at 417 300 t of copper, 724 500 oz of gold and 5.93-million ounces of silver contained in a clean copper concentrate and precious metals doré.

Copper production of 15 400 t/y in concentrate is estimated in years 1 to 5; increasing to 20 700 t/y in years 6 to 16; and averaging 18 100 t/y over the total life-of-mine.

Potential Job Creation
The PEA includes employment for 290 personnel during the first five years of expected production that increases to 355 personnel for the remaining 18 years.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $347-million and an internal rate of return 26.8%, with a payback of 5.3 years.

Capital Expenditure
The initial capital expenditure for the project is estimated at $161.4-million.

An expansion of the mine, mill and processing facilities is planned to be completed in Year 6 and is expected to cost $120.6-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Cordoba has identified additional opportunities to enhance the overall project economics, including the delineation of the high-grade gold veins contained within the El Alacrán deposit and optimisation of mineral processing and metals recovery.

Potential also exists for the discovery of the porphyry sources for the Alacran and Montiel West deposits and for other deposits within the San Matias project area.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Nordmin Engineering (PEA).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Cordoba Minerals, tel +1 604689 8765 or email info@cordobamineralscorp.com.