Name of the Project
Sulphur Springs zinc/copper project.

Location
Pilbara region, in the Shire of East Pilbara, Australia.

Project Owner/s
Base metals company Venturex Resources.

Project Description
The project aims to develop an openpit and underground operation to mine and process ore from a volcanogenic massive sulphide copper/zinc deposit. The project comprises Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant reserves of 8.5-million tonnes grading 1.4% copper, 3.1% zinc and 14.3 g/t silver.

A definitive feasibility study has endorsed the development of a 1.25-million-tonne-a-year development.

The project envisages an operation producing of about 65 000 t/y of  25% copper concentrate and 75 000 t/y of 50% zinc concentrate.

Life-of-mine (LoM) payable metal is estimated at 146 000 t of copper and 348 000 t of zinc. The project has a 10.3-year LoM.

The project includes:

• the development of an openpit mine to mine the top portion of the orebody;

• the development of an underground mine, accessed through a portal external to the openpit, to mine the remainder of the orebody;

• the construction and operation of a conventional 1.5-million-tonne-a-year flotation processing plant to produce separate copper and zinc concentrates;

• the construction and operation of a 42 ha valley fill tailings storage facility upstream of the mine pit;

• the construction of two water storage/evaporation ponds, lined with high-density polyethylene (HDPE), to store surplus mine dewater;

• the construction of one permanent waste-rock dump;

• the construction of support infrastructure for stormwater management, internal mine and site access roads, topsoil and construction material stockpiles, a power station, an accommodation village, wastewater treatment plants, a mine water treatment plant, water storage ponds and mine support facilities;

• the taking of groundwater up to 0.94 Gℓ/y for dewatering and water supply; and

• the transportation of copper and zinc concentrates to Port Hedland for export.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of A$472-million and an internal rate of return of 51%.

Capital Expenditure
A$169-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Venturex Resources is readying to start several work streams at its Sulphur Springs copper/zinc project to advance the project to a final investment decision.

The company has initiated several activities to ensure that all key critical-path items, permitting and final engineering are completed over the coming months to facilitate a seamless transition to construction and development.

This would enable the company to move to a final investment decision and start construction without delay to take advantage of the strong base metal prices.

Critical path items scheduled for completion before the start of the wet season this year include the submission of a mining proposal and mine closure plan to the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety; the submission of a works approval application to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation; a front-end engineering design study; construction of site access roads; and geotechnical investigations on the tailings storage facility and detailed design of this facility

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Entech (DFS-level mining study – mining, mine design and ore reserves), Lycopodium (process plant infrastructure and nonprocess infrastructure); Lycopodium Limited and Australian Laboratory Services (metallurgical testwork); Mil Min (geology and resources); Knight Piésold (tailings management facility and geotechnical); and Entech Proprietary Limited and BurnVoir Corporate Finance (financial modelling).

Contact Details for Project Information
Venturex Resources, tel +61 8 6389 7400.