Vancouver — Corriente Resources (CTQ-T, ETQ-X) has arranged a $125-million financing to bring its Mirador copper deposit, in southeastern Ecuador, into production.
An underwriting syndicate, led by Canaccord Capital and including Desjardins Securities, Sprott Securities and Wellington West Capital Markets, will sell 19,231,000 Corriente shares at $6.50 apiece.
With the offering expected to close by late May, the company is gearing towards launching development and construction at Mirador, a planned open-pit copper operation.
The mine model at Mirador sees a starter-pit scenario forecast to produce about 131 million lbs. (60,000 tonnes) copper, 32,000 oz. gold and 398,000 oz. silver annually over its first five years. Over a 38-year mine life, a daily throughput of 25,000 tonnes is expected. Capital costs of about US$195 million are projected for the mine under the optimized development plan.
Measured and indicated resources stand at 347 million tonnes grading 0.62% copper, 0.2 gram gold and 1.6 grams silver per tonne at Mirador, based on a cutoff grade of 0.37% copper. The initial starter pit will have a stripping ratio of 0.53:1, while over the life of the mine, the average ratio is expected to be 1.4:1. An accelerated mining rate of 50,000 tonnes per day was also examined.
Shares of Corriente pulled back slightly on the announcement, shedding about 50 to close around $6.50. The company posts a 52-week trading range of $1.41-$7.74.
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