Tintina Mines (TSXV: TTS) has published a positive preliminary economic assessment for their Domeyko Sulfuros copper-gold project found in the Atacama region of Chile. The study has outlined an after-tax net present value (8%) of US$328 million for the project, based on copper pricing of US$4.30 per pound and gold pricing of US$2,500 an ounce.
The study envisions a project with a 26 year life of mine, although the company did not indicate whether this is an open-pit or underground mining operation, instead stating that the project is a “long-life, medium-scale porphyry development” that has expansion upside.
Over the life of mine, 2.1 billion pounds of copper and 1.5 million ounces of gold are to be recovered. Under the base case scenario, a mining rate of 164,000 tonnes per day is expected, while processing is to occur at a rate of 35,000 tonnes per day. Recoveries of 88.2% are expected for copper and 64.6% for gold.
On the capital side, initial capital of US$1.28 billion is required to get the mine operational, while sustaining capital is estimated at US$905 million. Tintina did not provide details on costing on a per pound or per ounce basis.
“The PEA provides a strong technical and economic foundation to advance Domeyko Sulfuros to the next stage of development, and we believe the Project offers meaningful opportunities for further optimization and value enhancement as additional technical work is completed,” commented Juan Rassmuss, Chairman of Tintina Mines.
While little details were provided on the study, Tintina has indicated that they intend to advance the project towards pre-feasibility, with oncoming work to include the conversion of inferred resources to a higher confidence category, optimization of gold recoveries, and the advancement of priority targets across the larger Domeyko district.
Tintina Mines last traded at $0.40 on the TSX Venture.
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