Name of the Project
Eva copper project.

Location
Queensland, Australia.

Project Owner/s
Copper Mountain Mining Corporation.

Project Description
An updated feasibility study has envisaged a conventional openpit mine using drilling, blasting, loading and hauling mining methods.

The mine plan comprises seven pits. Little Eva is the primary pit and will be supplemented by progressively mining the other six satellite pit areas – Blackard, Scanlan, Turkey Creek, Bedford, Lady Clayre and Ivy Ann.  

The plan includes mining 551-million tonnes of ore and waste from seven deposits over a mine life of 15 years.

Total ore mined is expected to be 170-million tonnes and total waste is expected to be 380-million tonnes for a waste to ore strip ratio of 2.2:1.

The project’s total copper production is expected to be about 1.5-billion pounds of copper, while gold production is estimated at 205 000 oz, based on a gold recovery of 78%. Metal production on an average basis is estimated at 100-million pounds of copper a year and 13 650 oz/y of gold. However, the first two years of mining are expected to produce about 128-million pounds of copper a year.

The process plant is designed to mill 31 200 t/d for an average throughput of 11.4-million tonnes a year. Sequenced mining from the seven deposits will deliver a mixture of sulphide and native copper ore in a percentage ratio of 75:25.   

The sulphide deposits include Little Eva, Turkey Creek, Bedford, Lady Clayre and Ivy Ann. The Blackard and Scanlan deposits contain native copper and sulphide ore.

The processing flowsheet comprises crushing, grinding, gravity separation and flotation to recover copper and gold in concentrate. The flotation concentrate will be thickened, filtered and stockpiled for shipping to Glencore’s Mt Isa smelter.

A key update in the 2020 feasibility study flowsheet from the 2018 feasibility study is the change from a semiautogenous grinding mill and pebble crushing circuit to a secondary crusher and high-pressure grinding rolls design. The ball mill has also been upsized to support 31 200 t/d at a P80 target grind of 165 µm. The process plant flowsheet developed for the project is a standard concentrator design and all the unit operations selected for the plant consist of proven technology and are considered low risk.

The project is near existing infrastructure, with power available through a 220 kV powerline.

Water for the operations will be supplied through a wellfield, located near the processing facility, as well as pit dewatering and water reclaimed from the tailings storage facility, all of which are located on the property.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $437-million and an internal rate of return of 29%.

Capital Expenditure
Total initial development capital $454.5-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Copper Mountain Mining has confirmed that it has engaged investment bank Macquarie Capital to evaluate strategic opportunities regarding the Eva copper project.

Copper Mountain responded to media reports on June 28 about a possible project sell-off, stating that it regularly reviewed strategic opportunities and that there were no pending transactions with respect to Eva.

This is the second time in more than a month that Copper Mountain had to respond to speculation that it was planning to divest the asset.

Detailed engineering is planned for completion, to at least 80%, in the third quarter of 2022. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Copper Mountain Mining Corporation, tel +1 604 682 2992.