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 tables a starter pit scenario forecast to produce about 131 million pounds (60,000 tonnes) of copper, 32,000 oz. of gold and 398,000 oz. of silver annually over its first five years. Over a projected 38-year mine life, operations will have a daily throughput of 25,000 tonnes. Capital costs of about US$195 million are projected for the mine under the optimized development plan.
The plan is based on a measured and indicated resource of 347 million tonnes grading 0.62% copper, 0.2 gram gold per tonne and 1.6 grams silver per tonne at Mirador, based on a cut-off grade of 0.37% copper. The initial starter pit will have a stripping ratio of 0.53-to-1, while over the life of the mine the average ratio should be 1.4-to-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 at the $6.50 level. The company posts a 52-week trading range of $1.41-to-$7.74.
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