Vancouver-based Indochina Goldfields (ING-T) and a mining enterprise owned by the Myanmar government plan to develop their jointly held Monwya copper mine complex in that country’s north-central region.
Contracts for finance, construction and copper marketing were signed at an official ceremony. Two Japanese firms, Marubeni and Nissho Iwai, will provide a US$90-million loan for the project’s first phase. Marubeni and Chiyoda will design, build and commission the crushing, conveying and heap-leach facilities, as well as the solvent extraction-electrowinning plant.
“The project is on-track to commence Phase I production in mid-1998 and to reach full commercial production at an annual rate of 25,000 tonnes of London Metal Exchange Grade A copper cathode by year-end 1998,” says Edward Flood, president of Indochina.
The partners are discussing ways to finance an expansion program aimed at increasing annual capacity to 63,500 tonnes of cathode copper. The expansion will integrate production from the adjacent Letpadaung deposit.
Minproc has completed a bankable feasibility study for the expansion project. Cash operating costs are estimated at US43cents per lb., while capital costs are pegged at US$300 million. An optimization study based on a recently upgraded reserve estimate is nearly complete.
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