Coro Mining Corp. (“Coro” or the “Company”)
(TSX:COP) is pleased to announce that the Definitive Feasibility
Study (DFS) completed by Coro as a condition of its earn in to
acquire up to a 75% interest in the Marimaca 1-23 Claim (“the
Project”), located near Antofagasta, Chile has confirmed the
technical and economic viability of developing the Project. The
Marimaca 1-23 Claim is part of larger group of properties
controlled by Coro in the Marimaca area.
Highlights
- Proven and probable mineral reserves of oxide ore of 24.6
million tonnes at 0.8% CuT, containing 196,800 tonnes (434 million
lbs) of copper
- Robust project economics with an after-tax IRR of 58.8% and an
NPV (5%) of $114 million
- Mine life of 12 years plus 3 years processing stacked ore
(‘LOM’)
- Annual copper production of 10,000 tonnes (year 2 to year 10)
from a 1.8 million tonne per annum (‘Mtpa’) SX-EW plant at a LOM
average plant feed grade of 0.80% CuT and a LOM strip ratio
(waste:ore) of 2:1
- Initial capital costs of $22.6 million including $1.7 million
in project contingency and $1.1 million in owner allowances
- LOM cash operating costs of $2.05/lb
All amounts are US Dollars, based on $3 per
pound copper price and on a 100% Project basis.
Commenting on the DFS, Coro’s President &
CEO Luis Tondo said: “We are pleased that the DFS, even at this
early stage of what could ultimately be a larger project, already
confirms the strong economic potential of the Marimaca 1-23 Claim.
Completion of this study is an important milestone enabling the
Company to establish its 51% ownership of Compania Minera Newco
Marimaca (“CMNM”), owner of the Marimaca 1-23 Claim. Coro may
acquire an additional 24% interest in CMNM by obtaining financing
to build the Project or by transferring ownership of its Ivan SXEW
processing plant to CMNM. With the completion of the acquisition of
100% of the SM Claims, a 379 hectare package of mining claims
immediately adjoining the Marimaca 1-23 Claim to the north and
south (announced on 22 January 2018), and the optioning of the
adjacent La Atomica property (announced on 2 November 2017), the
Company will work towards determining the preferred development
plan for the Marimaca area to maximize value creation for its
shareholders.”
Reserves & ResourcesMineral
reserves for the Marimaca 1-23 Claim Project have been estimated by
NCL Consultants, using industry best practices and conforming to
the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral
Reserves (10 May 2014).
Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are
summarized in the table below and have respective effective dates
of 28 May 2018 and 22 May 2018.
|
Tonnes |
|
|
Cu Contained |
Category |
Mt |
% CuT |
% CuS |
Mlbs |
Proven |
12.7 |
0.83 |
0.62 |
232 |
Probable |
11.9 |
0.78 |
0.56 |
204 |
Proven + Probable |
24.6 |
0.80 |
0.59 |
434 |
Measured |
22.4 |
0.70 |
0.49 |
345 |
Indicated |
24.3 |
0.61 |
0.39 |
325 |
Measured
+ Indicated |
46.8 |
0.65 |
0.44 |
670 |
Inferred |
11.0 |
0.48 |
0.28 |
117 |
CuT: total copper tonnesCuS: acid soluble copper
tonnesMineral reserves are reported as constrained within measured
and indicated pit design and supported by a mine plan featuring a
constant throughput rate. The pit design and mine plan were
optimized with slopes angles varying from 42.3° to 52.2°, ore and
waste mining average cost of $2.47/t, process and G&A of
$12.14/t, SX-EW of $0.30 USD/lb, selling costs of $0.07 USD/lb at a
copper price $3.0 USD/lb, as well as a variable recovery as
function of solubility ratio. The average processing recovery is
65% and for this average, the cut-off is 0.32% CuT. Mineral
Reserves considers 1% of mining dilution.Mineral Resources are
inclusive of mineral reserves.Rounding as required by reporting
guidelines may result in apparent summation differences between
tonnes, grade and contained metal content Tonnage and grade
measurements are in metric units. Contained copper is reported in
millions of pounds.
Estimated Capital Costs
Area |
Equipment ($000’) |
Construction ($000’) |
Total ($000’) |
Mine |
|
1,541 |
1,541 |
Crushing |
1,181 |
482 |
1,663 |
Agglomeration |
111 |
27 |
138 |
Leaching |
1,188 |
3,076 |
4,264 |
SX-TF-EW |
4,952 |
1,944 |
6,895 |
Sulfuric
Acid & Reagents |
187 |
165 |
351 |
Infrastructure |
1,048 |
1,062 |
2,110 |
Total Direct Capex Costs |
8,666 |
8,297 |
16,964 |
Project
Administration |
|
|
469 |
Detail
Engineering |
|
|
330 |
Commissioning & Start-up |
|
|
256 |
First
Fill |
|
|
1,710 |
Total Indirect Capex Costs |
|
|
2,765 |
Project
Contingency 10% |
|
|
1,749 |
Project Grand Total |
|
|
21,478 |
Owner
Allowances (5%) |
|
|
$1,074 |
Total |
|
|
22,552 |
In addition, $8.1 million has been considered
for sustaining capital, and $4.4 million for mine and plant closure
costs. In total, investment costs for the project life total
$35 million. The capital cost estimate excluded losses or
gains that may arise from foreign exchange rate variations, cost
escalation and other factors.
Operating Costs
Items |
$/t ore |
$/lb |
Mining |
$8.18 |
$0.71 |
Plant |
$12.27 |
$1.07 |
G&A |
$3.19 |
$0.28 |
Total |
$23.64 |
$2.05 |
Plant Refurbishment
- It is envisaged that the Ivan Plant facilities will be
refurbished and updated to process 1.8 Mt per year and secure the
10,000 tpa of copper production. The principal works include:
- Existing No1 crushing line expanded and modified by adding a
closed circuit tertiary crushing line
- Existing agglomeration line overhauled
- Leaching will take place on 3 heap leach pads located at
Ivan
- The solvent extraction mixers-settlers will be replaced with
conventional technology
- Electrowinning refurbishment includes civil rehabilitation,
cell tanks, piping distribution and electric busbars maintenance
works
After-tax Sensitivity
Sensitivity Analysis |
(20%) |
(10%) |
-- |
10% |
20% |
Recovery |
NPV5% |
$28 |
$72 |
$114 |
$156 |
$198 |
IRR |
21% |
41% |
58% |
75% |
90% |
Opex |
NPV5% |
$174.9 |
$144.5 |
$114.1 |
$84.7 |
$53.1 |
IRR |
83% |
71% |
58% |
46% |
32% |
Capex |
NPV5% |
$118.7 |
$116.4 |
$114.1 |
$111.8 |
$109.6 |
IRR |
70% |
64% |
58% |
54% |
50% |
Cu grade |
NPV5% |
$28.4 |
$72.4 |
$114.1 |
$156.2 |
$198.2 |
IRR |
21% |
41% |
58% |
75% |
90% |
Cu Price |
NPV5% |
$24.0 |
$70.3 |
$114.1 |
$158.3 |
$202.4 |
IRR |
18% |
40% |
58% |
75% |
92% |
The Company will file a Technical Report as
defined by NI 43-101 on www.sedar.com. With the completion of the
DFS, the company will initiate the execution of the legal documents
required to complete the acquisition of its 51% shareholding in
CMNM.
Qualified Persons
The mineral resource estimates contained in this
news have been prepared in accordance with National
Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for
Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").
Collectively, Enrique Quiroga, Luis Oviedo,
Carlos Guzmán, are the Qualified Persons for purposes of National
Instrument 43-101:
Mr Quiroga, Mining Engineer, Member of Chilean
Mining Commission and of the Institute of Mining Engineers of Chile
and of the College of Engineer of Chile, is employed by Propipe and
serves as the Qualified Person for overall report preparation and
also was responsible for those sections relating to process design,
engineering and cost estimation. Mr Quiroga visited the property in
May 2018.
Luis Oviedo, Geologist, member of the Geologist
College of Chile and of the Chilean Mining Commission, served as
the Qualified Person for those parts of the technical report
relating to historical data, exploration and geology and resource
estimation. Mr. Oviedo is employed by NCL and completed a site
visit in December 2017.
Carlos Guzmán, Mining Engineer, Fellow member of
the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM) and
registered member of the Chilean Mining Commission, is employed by
NCL and was the Qualified Person responsible for the sections
related to mining. Mr. Guzmán visited the property in May 2018.
Enrique Quiroga is the Qualified Person for the
purposes of NI 43-101 responsible for the contents of this news
release.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,Luis
Tondo, President & CEO
For further information please visit www.coromining.com or
contact:Nicholas Bias, VP Corporate Development & Investor
Relations+1 604 682 5546 x202 / +44 (0)7771 450 679 |
nbias@coromining.com
This news release includes certain
"forward-looking statements" as defined under applicable Canadian
securities legislation. The words "expect", "target", "estimate",
"may", "will" and other similar expressions identify
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements relate
to, among other things, mineral reserve and resource estimates,
grades and recoveries, financial forecasts including the net
present value and after-tax internal rate of return estimates of
the Project, projected tax rates, the anticipated LOM, annual
copper production expectations including cash flows, capital costs
and expected LOM operating costs and planned refurbishment of the
Ivan Plant facilities. Forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are beyond
Coro’s ability to predict or control and may cause Coro’s actual
results, performance or achievements to be materially different
from any of its future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These
risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited
to, strategic, legal, planning and other risks, the impact of
changes in, or to the enforcement of, laws, regulations and
government practices, potential defects in title to the Project
that are not known as of the date hereof, the inability of Coro to
enforce its strict legal rights in relation to the Project, the
occurrence of unexpected financial obligations, fluctuations in the
price of commodities, fluctuations in the currency markets, changes
in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls,
regulations and political or economic developments, risks and
hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration,
development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial
accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins
and flooding), risks related to operational matters and
geotechnical issues, the success of future exploration and
development activities, the occurrence of any labour unrest, the
ability to accurately predict decommissioning and reclamation
costs, the risk of budget and timing overruns, potential opposition
to the Project by local communities and the planning, design and
costing of the key project infrastructure such as power and water.
Such forward-looking statements are also based on a number of
assumptions which may prove to be incorrect, changes in Project
parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those
factors disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to
time with the securities regulators in the Provinces of British
Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and
Labrador. Accordingly, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. Coro undertakes no
obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any
forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of
new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be
required by law.
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