Eva project strengthens as Blackard deposit delivers

Copper Mountain Mining is building potential at the Eva project, where its work on the Blackard deposit has added 836 million pounds of copper to the resource. The company has released recent drill results, metallurgical testwork results and a new mineral resource for the deposit, which is located within the Eva copper project mining leases 95km north-east of Mount Isa. They will be fed into the mine plan for Eva, with Copper Mountain Mining planning to complete an updated bankable feasibility study for the project in the first quarter of 2020. Ausenco has been retained for the updated study. Blackard now has a measured and indicated mineral resource of 77 million tonnes grading 0.49 per cent copper, containing 836 million pounds of copper. It has an inferred mineral resource of 19 million tonnes containing 206 million pounds of copper. Copper Mountain says the new mineral resource at Blackard improves the grade and increases the size of the wider Eva copper project’s measured and indicated mineral resource to 228 million tonnes, containing 2.1 billion pounds of copper. Metallurgical testwork has confirmed economic recoveries at Blackard, with flotation recoveries expected to be 90 per cent for the copper sulphide zone and 63 per cent for the copper zone, both producing saleable concentrates. "We are extremely encouraged by the potential that exists at Eva copper," Copper Mountain chief executive officer and president Gil Clausen said. "These results lead us to believe that Blackard could significantly increase the mill feed and copper production at the Eva copper project. "We intend to incorporate the information from the Blackard mineral resource and metallurgical testwork into an updated feasibility study for Eva copper, the results of which we expect to announce in the first quarter of 2020.” He said the Blackard deposit was only one of seven historical copper deposits within the Eva copper project area that were not included in the current mine plan. "We are continuing to drill and advance the other deposits, which we believe could add even more value to the Eva copper project,” he said. A feasibility study completed late last year indicated the copper-gold project could be brought online at a capital cost of $US350 million and have a mine life of 12 years, with annual average production around 90 million pounds of copper and 19,000 ounces of gold. * Receive regular mining and energy news updates in your inbox. Subscribe to our e-bulletin here: http://www.i-q.net.au/iq-newsletters https://www.i-q.net.au/main/potential-boost-for-eva-copper-production h

Eva project strengthens as Blackard deposit delivers

Industry Queensland

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