PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A scoping study into the Kharmagtai openpit copper/gold project, in Mongolia, has confirmed the project economics and the project’s potential to become a robust, high margin, rapid payback and long-life operation, dual listed Xanadu Mines said.

The scoping study estimated that the 20-million-tonne-a-year project would require a capital investment of some $683-million, recovering some 86.6% copper and 70.9% gold.

“The openpit scoping study clearly demonstrates that the Kharmagtai copper/gold project is one of the leading development assets globally today,” said Xanadu MD and CEO Andrew Stewart.

“The scoping study indicates the potential to develop a low-strip-ratio openpit mining operation in an accelerated time frame with rapid payback of the life-of-mine infrastructure for future openpit and underground mining operations. Whatever lens you look through, whether it is value, strip ratio, cost, mine life, production profile or scalability, we believe Kharmagtai has the potential to be an outstanding project.”

Stewart noted that the study also identified several opportunities for further upside that will improve project economics both from extending the life of the openpit mine and targeting the high-grade Stockwork Hill and Copper Hill underground resources, which represents a clear and compelling path to value creation, and the ability to expand into the larger resource.

“While the current resource provides an excellent platform for the company to join the ranks of copper producers in the coming years, we believe that the exploration potential holds significant value for shareholders. We are excited with recent drilling below the Stockwork Hill deposit, which has demonstrated the existence of a significant new zone of borite gold-rich porphyry mineralisation along strike and at depth of the current openpit resource.”

Xanadu will now work to complete an updated mineral resource estimate and conduct infill drilling below the current resource to target the high-grade mineralisation at Stockwork Hill, while also completing conceptual mining studies to investigate the underground potential of areas outside of the opencut mines.