PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A scoping study into the Berenguela copper/silver project, in Peru, has estimated that the project could be developed into a 1.6-million-tonne-a-year operation with a mine life of 11 years.
ASX-listed Valor Resources on Tuesday reported that the project was expected to require a capital investment of $165-million, and could deliver some 119 000 t of copper and around 37-million ounces of silver over the life of the project.
The scoping study is based on a mineral resource estimate of 21.6-million tonnes, grading 0.87% copper and 126.4 g/t silver.
Valor executive chairperson Mark Sumner said that the company believed the scoping study provided a strong justification for the planned investment and work programme in the coming months, and supported Valor’s aim to deliver a rerating in the value of stock for shareholders.
“We expect to mobilise drill rigs in June so we can continue driving the Berenguela project towards a prefeasibility study, and eventually mine development,” he added.