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The estimate, by Snowden Mining Industry Consultants, puts the resource at 177 million tonnes grading 0.98% copper, based on a 0.7%-copper cutoff grade. Of that, 161 million tonnes fall in the indicated category, and a further 16 million at the same grade are inferred.
The resource includes a higher-grade core with 65 million tonnes running 1.26% copper. About half the resource is relatively enriched secondary copper mineralization, which would mainly be acid-soluble; that part of the deposit could potentially be developed as a solvent extraction-electrowinning operation.
Lower cutoff grades bring the resource into the large porphyry-copper neighbourhood: at a cutoff of 0.5% copper, the resource in all categories is 662 million tonnes grading 0.69% copper, and at a cutoff of 0.3%, it increases to 1.1 billion tonnes running 0.58%.
The calculation is based on a 31-hole database at relatively wide spacings.
Monterrico is waiting for the completion of a prefeasibility study, scheduled for September. The study will use the new resource figure in its economic models.
Rio Blanco is now owned outright by Monterrico,
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