Corriente looks at smaller model (March 17, 2003)

Vancouver — An independent study gives the Mirador copper-gold deposit in southeastern Ecuador a pretax net present value of US$153 million, using a 20,000-tonne-per-day base case and a copper price of US$0.80 per lb.

Operator Corriente Resources (CTQ-T) puts the total capital cost at US$134 million, which includes a conventional flotation plant with a 32-ft. semi-autogenous-grinding mill.

Based on the latest model, the mill would require 94 million tonnes of ore over a 13-year mine life. This would allow the junior to use just the northern portion of the deposit, which has a low stripping ratio, and leaves the southern portion out of the assessment but available for additional resources.

The plan is focused on an inferred resource of 98 million tonnes grading 0.78% copper and 0.22 gram gold per tonne. The total resource stands at 182 million tonnes grading 0.76% copper and 0.22 gram gold. At a copper price of US70 per lb., the model generates a pretax internal rate of return of 22% and a net present value (at 10% discount) of US$84 million.

An earlier model called for a 50,000-tonne-per-day operation.

The latest report recommends a US$1.2-million prefeasibility study of the project.