Phoenix Copper Limited / Ticker: PXC / Sector: Mining
19 September 2024
Phoenix Copper Limited
("
Phoenix Publishes Pre-Feasibility Study for Empire Open-Pit Mine
Phoenix Copper Ltd (AIM: PXC; OTCQX ADR: PXCLY), the AIM-quoted
Highlights
· PFS pre-tax economics - discounted net present value at 7.5% ("NPV7.5") of
· Life of mine production of 40,424 metric tonnes ("mt") of copper, 40,161 ounces ("oz") of gold and 1.76 million oz of silver;
· Newly designed flotation circuit capable of processing high-grade sulphide ore, in addition to the open-pit oxide ore;
· Sulphide exploration planning in final stages, with a view to mining high grade sulphide material to augment the open-pit flotation feed; and
· Recently purchased ball mills and additional equipment delivered to site in
Ryan McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "I am pleased to announce that the PFS for the Empire Mine has been completed and provides detailed geological, engineering, metallurgical, and costing data for the proposed open-pit operation.
"Following the publication of the Empire Mine mineral reserves statement on 7 May 2024 (Table 2), the Empire team engineered a crush-grind-flotation-tank leach process design for the proposed open pit. The flotation circuit will also be suitable for processing future polymetallic sulphide vein material from below the open pit. The PFS shows Life-of-Mine production (payable) of 89,094,705 copper lbs (40,424 mt), 40,161 oz gold, and 1,759,717 oz silver . The estimated operating and capital costs for the design mill, the open pit, and ancillary operations are included in the PFS, which shows a pre-tax NPV7.5 of
"The Empire processing mill will produce a copper-gold-silver concentrate in the flotation circuit and a separate cement copper stream from the leaching circuit. As the flotation circuit will also be able to process sulphide ore, the Empire team is currently finalizing a plan to advance the exploration of the deeper sulphide vein system with an eye on augmenting the open pit ore with feed from the higher-grade sulphide vein system below the pit. The planning includes driving an adit toward known sulphide mineralization and developing underground drilling stations along the length of the adit. Known sulphide mineralization includes the 8.38% copper interval intercepted in the 2021 core drilling program, which also assayed 1.31 grammes per tonne ("g/t") gold and 120 g/t silver. Historically mined grades from the sulphide vein system below the open pit were recorded as high as 8% copper, with smelter recoveries of the time recorded as averaging 3.64% copper, 1.64 g/t gold, and 54 g/t silver. The advantage to underground mining and drilling is that it can be conducted effectively in the wintertime without significant weather-related impacts. Resources permitting, we hope to commence driving the adit this winter.
"Using this PFS as the basis, we are now completing final detailed engineering and the plan of operations for the open-pit mine. The
"I would also like to report that the pre-owned ball mills purchased by the Company in March 2024 have been delivered to our facility in
"The PFS was prepared using the NI 43-101 format, but is not considered NI 43-101 compliant because used and pre-owned equipment pricing was used to calculate capital expenditures. The Company is well-positioned to purchase additional used equipment for the Empire Open-Pit operation and has selected to incorporate used equipment pricing in its cashflow model, as opposed to NI 43-101's required new equipment pricing."
Summary of Economic Results
The economic analysis of the base case scenario for the Project uses metal prices of
Table 1
Project Evaluation Overview |
After Tax |
Before Tax |
Cumulative Net Cashflow |
|
|
NPV @ 5.0%; (millions) |
|
|
NPV @ 7.5%; (millions) |
|
|
NPV @ 10.0%; (millions) |
|
|
Internal Rate of Return |
40.2% |
46.4% |
Payback Period |
1.66 |
1.41 |
Payback Multiple |
2.92 |
3.21 |
Benefit Cost Ratio |
7.61 |
8.87 |
Initial Capital |
|
|
Max. Neg. Cashflow (millions) |
- |
- |
Mineral Reserve Statement for Empire Mine
Table 2 - Fully diluted tonnes at a NSR cut-off of
Classification |
Tonnes |
Copper |
Gold |
Silver |
Copper Equivalent |
|||||
|
(x1000) |
% |
lb (x1000) |
gpt |
oz (x1000) |
gpt |
oz (x1000) |
% |
lbs (x1000) |
tonnes |
Proven |
7,515 |
0.49 |
81,070.56 |
0.38 |
90.9 |
14.42 |
3,483.70 |
0.68 |
111,995.19 |
50,814 |
Probable |
2,582 |
0.5 |
28,417.41 |
0.16 |
13.2 |
14.1 |
1,170.70 |
0.61 |
34,498.69 |
15,652 |
Proven + Probable |
10,097 |
0.49 |
109,487.97 |
0.32 |
104 |
14.34 |
4,654.40 |
0.66 |
146,493.89 |
66,467 |
The mineral reserves reported herein for the Empire project have been estimated in a manner consistent with the NI 43-101 Committee of Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards ("CRIRSCO"), of which both the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") and Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the "JORC Code") are members.
Qualified Person
The foregoing technical information in this news release has been reviewed and verified by Dennis Thomas, ACSM, FIMMM, FGS, CEng, Eurlng, co-founder of Phoenix Copper Limited and Member of the Company's Advisory Board. Mr. Thomas has held both executive and non-executive roles in a number of international private and public natural resources companies and is a chartered mining engineer from the Camborne School of Mines. He is a Qualified Person under the AIM Rules and consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and the context in which it appears.
Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
The Company deems the information contained within this announcement to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014, which has been incorporated into
For further information please visit https://phoenixcopperlimited.com.
Phoenix Copper Limited |
Ryan McDermott Paul de Gruchy Richard Wilkins |
Tel: +1 208 9547039 Tel: +44 7484 203 720 Tel: +44 7590 216 657 |
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser) |
David Hignell / Caroline Rowe |
Tel: +44 20 3470 0470 |
Tavira Financial Limited (Joint Broker) |
Jonathan Evans / Oliver Stansfield |
Tel: +44 20 7100 5100 |
Zeus Capital Limited (Joint Broker) |
Harry Ansell / Katy Mitchell |
Tel: +44 20 7220 1666 |
Panmure Liberum ( |
Mark |
Tel: +44 20 7886 2500 |
EAS Advisors (US Corporate Adviser) |
Matt Bonner / Rogier de la Rambelje |
Tel: +1 (646) 495-2225 |
BlytheRay (Financial PR) |
Tim Blythe / Megan Ray |
Tel: +44 20 7138 3204 |
Notes
Phoenix Copper Limited is an emerging producer and exploration company specialising in base and precious metals, with an initial focus on copper, gold, and silver extraction from an open-pit mining operation within
Located in the historic Alder Creek mining district near
Since 2017,
In addition to the Empire Mine,
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