Botswana miner Khoemacau Copper Mining (KCM), a subsidiary of private-equity firm Cupric Canyon Capital (CCC), has completed the drilling phase of its Zone 5 feasibility study, which demonstrates the viability of mining and processing 10 000 t/d of copper.

Construction can start at the project, which hosts 100-million tons of high-grade copper/silver ore, with CCC reviewing funding options, including debt, equity and self-financing, as well as alternative financing. CCC COO Robert Coyle expects to reach financial close and secure funding by June.

Located in the Kalahari copperbelt, within the Ghantsi and Ngamiland districts of Botswana, Zone 5’s favourable geology and metallurgy, combined with CCC’s July 2015 acquisition of Discovery Copper Botswana’s (DCB’s) fully functional Boseto mill, in Ngamiland, have Coyle predicting first production in the first half of 2018.

He explains that, as drilling progressed and the size of the Zone 5 resource increased, KCM realised that it could support a mining/milling operation that was much larger than the 10 000 t/d initially contemplated. Coyle notes that Zone 5, acquired with defunct miner Hana Mining in 2013, will average 50 000 t/y of copper from the 10 000 t/d plant and C1 cash costs will be in the lowest quartile.

CCC estimates that the project’s initial capital cost is about $350-million, which includes the development of the Zone 5 mine, infrastructure improvements and the Boseto plant upgrades. Coyle believes that construction of the Zone 5 mine should start in the second half of 2016, after financing is arranged. This will include the establishment of underground mines and surface facilities.

Boseto Upgrade
The Boseto concentrator’s capacity will be upgraded from its current three-million tons a year to 3.65-million tons a year to treat Zone 5 ore. This upgrade will begin with detailed engineering in 2016, followed by construction in early 2017. The primary contractor has yet to be named, as KCM will solicit competitive bids only later this year.

Coyle says the Boseto mill is a well-designed and constructed processing facility, and can process Zone 5 ore without significant modification, as the plant performed well when treating pure sulphide ore previously.

However, based on the lessons learned from DCB’s experience in operating the mill – as well as KCM’s expertise in milling – Coyle explains that upgrades to the plant will likely include a new filtration plant to adequately dry the concentrate being produced.

“Additional grinding capacity, coupled with modifications to the flotation circuit, will also be required to enhance recovery of the higher-grade ore from Zone 5,” he adds, noting that several minor repairs are also needed, including the refurbishment of the primary crusher foundation.

Expansion Project and Other Developments
The Zone 5 expansion project, an extension of the Zone 5 ‘starter project’, targets the mining and processing of 16 000 t/d of ore to produce 80 000 t/y of copper. Prefeasibility work indicates that the Zone 5 mine can produce ore exceeding six-million tons a year through mine expansion with additional declines.

Coyle points out that the Zone 5 expansion project will begin in late 2018, after production has started.

He notes that, “interestingly”, the expansion project prefeasibility study demonstrates the benefits of constructing a new processing plant at Zone 5 with a capacity of 16 800 t/d, which will enable the Boseto plant to process ore from sources closer by.

“The scoping study work on this option indicates that copper production from the district could increase to over 100 000 t/y. Feed for the Boseto plant will come from previously identified resources on DCB ground – Mango, Zeta Underground and Zeta Northeast – and potentially from a new discovery by KCM geologists,” Coyle states, adding that KCM is drilling these resources while evaluating the other exploration licences that are part of the acquisition of DCB’s assets.

The evaluation work involves geological mapping and sampling, exploration drilling on the Zeta Northeast and Zeta Underground areas in the vicinity of the Boseto mill, as well as drilling on the Mango Northeast zone prospecting area. KCM plans to conduct drilling on other areas of the DCB licence areas it acquired along with the mill.

Additionally, KCM continues to drill in the new Zone 5 North target, believed to be the northern limb of the Zone 5 anticline, 5 km north of Zone 5. “No resource has yet been defined, but early drilling is promising, showing high-grade intercepts over mineable widths with a significant strike length,” says Coyle, stressing that “exploring this prospect is one of our highest priorities for the 2016 drilling programme”.

He emphasises that, while commodity prices are always a concern to producers, the price of copper is cyclical and the period of low commodity prices will end at some point.

Therefore, he does not foresee that the temporary low period in copper prices will preclude CCC and KCM from progressing with their projects.

Coyle highlights that working in Botswana has been satisfying, and the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Resources has been professional, but supportive of CCC’s efforts.