Copper Mountain bulks up BC mine resource, supporting expansion plans

Copper Mountain Mining (TSX: CMMC) has announced updated mineral resource and reserve estimates for its 75%-owned copper mine located in southern B.C. Based on the new reserves, the company has also released a revised life of mine plan that supports a mill expansion to 65,000 tonnes per day from 45,000 tonnes.

The latest update sees the Copper Mountain mine grow its measured and indicated resources to 1.1 billion tonnes averaging 0.22% copper, 0.09 gram gold and 0.64 gram silver. Total contained metals of 5.5 billion lb. of copper, 3.4 million oz. of gold and 23.4 million oz. of silver each represent 70%, 68% and 62% increases over the previous estimate.

Included in the mineral resources were proven and probable reserves of 702 million tonnes averaging 0.24% copper, 0.1 gram gold and 0.71 gram silver, for 3.7 billion lb. of copper, 2.3 million oz. of gold and 16 million oz. of silver.

Incorporating the updated reserve base, the Copper Mountain mine plan has been extended to 32 years with the 65,000-tonne-per-day expansion starting in 2028. Annual production is projected at 114 million lb. of copper, 54,000 oz. of gold and 367,000 oz. of silver.

The revised life of mine plan also results in robust economics of US$1.2 billion in after-tax net present value (at 8% discount), up from its previous estimate of US$1 billion. The initial capital cost required to increase throughput to 65,000 tonnes per day is estimated to be US$237 million.

“These results illustrate the size and scale of the Copper Mountain mine,” says Gil Clausen, Copper Mountain’s president and CEO. “Our large mineral reserves base underpins our updated 65,000 t/d expansion study, which estimates total production of over 4.1 billion pounds of copper-equivalent over a mine life that will extend beyond 30 years.

“Increasing plant capacity to 65,000 t/d requires only modest initial development capital, which is self funded with mine cash flow. In fact, not only is the Copper Mountain mine able to fund capital required over the life of mine, but it is also expected to generate significant free cash flow beyond these requirements. In addition, higher-grade exploration upside remains, particularly at depth, providing further reserve expansion potential,” he added.

In a note to clients, BMO Capital Markets analyst Rene Cartier said the expansion and increased resources and reserves highlight the value potential of the project, but ultimately decreased his net asset value estimate.

“Positively, the expansion is expected to be funded by internal cash flow. However, pushing out higher byproduct grades, updated operating costs, and increases in capital, have had a downward impact on our project NAV,” he said.

With the new resource update, the company’s total mineral reserve base, including at the Eva Copper project in Australia, now stands at 5.4 billion lb. of copper and over 2.6 million oz. of gold.

The Copper Mountain mine is located 20 km south of Princeton, B.C. Mitsubishi Materials owns the remaining 25% of the project.

In August, Copper Mountain fired its CFO Rodney Shier, who is now suing the company for wrongful dismissal, according to Stockwatch.