Solvent extraction-electrowinning technology (SX-EW) will be applied to stockpiled copper oxide ores at Noranda’s (TSE) Gasp mine in Quebec.
The company will spend $4 million constructing a pilot plant to test the SX-EW process. The results will determine whether a production plant will be built at the mine and smelter complex in Murdochville, Que.
Noranda estimates reserves at 19 million tonnes grading 0.5% copper. It expects a commercial plant would operate for about eight years, producing 8,000 tonnes of copper cathode a year.
The pilot plant is scheduled to start up in early 1996, and a decision on a production plant could be made in 1997. The Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources has provided an interest-free loan of $1.5 million for the pilot plant.
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