The Importance of Copper
Society’s need for minerals is experiencing a dramatic shift. In a single generation, we have experienced a tremendous increase in the uses and demand for a growing list of critical and strategic materials that are needed to address issues such as climate change. Copper is one of those materials.
Copper is a critical component of the clean energy revolution and uses for copper are rapidly expanding with the energy transition that is occurring today. Copper has superior properties that allow it to be used for many types of clean energy, including cost and electrical conductivity. Copper is used in a growing number of applications that range from power generation to energy storage and in the shift to electric and hybrid electric vehicles.
The Copper Development Association predicts that by 2040, wind and solar will produce more electricity than any other source in the world. As these technologies grow, they will depend heavily on copper’s reliability and high standard of performance to generate, transmit and store electricity. Current statistics for the use of copper include:
- Electric vehicles now contain three to four times the amount of copper used in a conventional fossil fuel only powered vehicle
- There are 7,800 pounds of copper per megawatt of power output in a typical land-based wind farm power system
- 11,000 pounds of copper per megawatt of solar power systems
Project Status
Permitting Federal EIS and ACOE 404 Complete
State AQ and DP Complete
State Mining Permit at Advanced Stage
Reserves & Resources
Mineral Reserves
| Cut-Off Grade (NSR/t) | Tons (000s) | Cu Eq (%) | Copper (%) | Moly (%) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proven | $6.11 | 78,857 | 0.32 | 0.010 | 0.096 | 2.25 | |
| Probable | $6.11 | 34,227 | 0.25 | 0.007 | 0.096 | 1.29 | |
| Total | $6.11 | 113,084 | 0.39 | 0.30 | 0.009 | 0.096 | 1.93 |
Mineral Resources (Includes Mineral Reserves)
| Cut-Off Grade (NSR/t) | Tons (000s) | Copper (%) | Moly (%) | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | $6.11 | 126,655 | 0.28 | 0.009 | 0.096 | 1.93 | |
| Indicated | $6.11 | 178,571 | 0.19 | 0.005 | 0.064 | 1.29 | |
| Total | $6.11 | 305,226 | 0.23 | 0.007 | 0.078 | 1.55 |
(1) Effective October 7, 2013
(2) Mineral reserves and resources based on $3.00/lb Copper, $8.00/lb Moly, $1,350/oz Gold and $20.00/oz Silver
(3) Mine design based on $2.25/lb cone pit
Low Cost of
Production
Copper Flat is well positioned in the 2nd Quartile of the Global Copper Cost Curve.
Total production costs are estimated at US $1.20 per pound of copper produced during the first five years of production and US $1.45 per pound of copper produced for the life of mine.
Low Capital Intensity
The initial capital cost is estimated to be US $374M, which is $10,650 per ton of annual output capacity.
Brownfield Redevelopment
The Project is a Brownfield Redevelopment Project in a stable region with excellent access to existing infrastructure. The Project will realize savings through the reuse of significant infrastructure that remains from the original Quintana Mine, which provides an estimated $53.9M in value to the Project.
Financial Return
| Copper Price($/lb) | NPV($M) | IRR(%) | Payback(Yrs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3.00 | 165.0 | 17.3% | 3.7 |
| $3.25 | 240.4 | 21.1% | 3.3 |
| $3.50 | 314.1 | 24.5% | 3.0 |
| $3.75 | 387.5 | 27.8% | 2.7 |
(1) Base case price assumptions based on $3.25/lb Copper, $10.50/lb Moly, $1,300/oz Gold, $16/oz Silver; post private royalty of 3.25%
(2) After Tax NPV at 8% Real Discount Rate
Mining Metrics Table
| Mine Operating Life (Years) | 11.1 |
| Average Annual Ore Process Rate (Million Short Tons) | 10.2 |
| Mill Head Grade (% Cu) | 0.298% |
| Mill Head Grade (% Cu Eq) | 0.378% |
| Mine Strip Ratio (Waste:Ore) | 0.40 |
| Copper Recovered (LOM Average Annual Tons) | 28,000 |
| Gold Recovered (LOM Troy Ounces) | 227,000 |