TNC Delivers First Oxide Ore at Wallace North, Cloncurry Copper Project
True North Copper Limited (ASX:TNC) (True North, TNC or the Company) is pleased to announce it is progressing mining activities at the Wallace North deposit, part of its Cloncurry Copper Project (CCP) in Queensland1, on schedule.
HIGHLIGHTS
Mining activities at TNC’s Wallace North deposit, part of its Cloncurry Copper Project (CCP) in Queensland, continue to successfully ramp up in line with the current CCP mine plan.TNC remains on track to become Australia’s next copper producer and critical metals supplier in Q1 2025 via its restart of CCP.Circa 155k BCM (Bank Cubic Metres) of overburden has been mined to date with approximately 6,000t of oxide ore mined and placed on the Wallace North RoM.Oxide ore is now being transported to the Great Australia Mine (GAM) crusher with stacking on the leach pad to commence October 2024.CCP is estimated to generate free cash flow of ~$200 million at current copper spot prices over its initial 4.6-year mine life.TNC is focussed on growing its workforce to support its objectives at CCP including the recruitment of a substantial number of personnel by mid-October for the GAM and Wallace North.
TNC last week commenced transportation of first oxide ore from the Wallace North pit to the Great Australia Mine (GAM) crushing facility. Irrigation of the ore will commence October 2024 and contribute to improved copper production from the Solvent Extraction (SX) plant. This will be the first ore mined by TNC that will be added to the heap leach since commissioning the SX plant in 2023.
In July, TNC announced the commencement of mining activities at Wallace North, one of four open-pit deposits making up CCP. Wallace North has an Ore Reserve totalling 0.7Mt (Probable) grading 1.01% Cu and 0.46g/t Au for 6.8kt Cu and 10.0koz Au2.
TNC has binding offtake and toll milling agreements with global commodity trader Glencore International AG for 100% of copper concentrate produced at CCP and toll milling of up to 1Mt of ore per year3. Under the toll milling agreement, sulphide ore will be transported to a third-party concentrator for toll treatment.
COMMENT
True North Copper’s Managing Director, Bevan Jones said:
“Our team at Wallace North has continued to advance mining activities on schedule with the current CCP mine plan. TNC’s progress towards becoming Australia’s next copper producer has taken significant steps forward since our previous Wallace North update, with 6,000t of oxide ore having now been mined and transportation of this ore to the GAM crusher underway. We expect to commence stacking of this ore on the leach pad in October, the next milestone in this process that we are now targeting. This is the first new copper ore mined and added to the heaps by TNC.
In parallel, TNC is focussed on growing our workforce to deliver on these objectives at CCP. The recruitment process continues for the GAM and Wallace North, with a substantial number of positions to be filled by mid-October.
‘This progress on both fronts strengthens TNC’s position not only as an emerging copper and critical metals company, but also as a North Queensland-based company focused on providing opportunities within the communities in which it operates. As mining activities progress further at CCP, we look forward to continuing to provide regular updates.”
Wallace North Mining Update
Since TNC announced the commencement of mining activities at Wallace North4 (refer ASX Announcement dated 1 July 2024), the Company has mined circa 155k BCM of overburden and is on schedule with the current CCP mine plan. Along with the 155k BCM, approximately 6,000t of oxide ore has been mined and placed on the Wallace North RoM to date.
Since exposing the oxide ore in the Wallace North open cut pit, the Company has been stockpiling ore on the Wallace North RoM for road haulage to commence. TNC has now commenced transportation of the oxide ore by road train to the COH’s heap leach. Sulphide ore will then be transported to a nearby concentrator for toll treatment under TNC’s toll-milling agreement with Glencore. Transitional and Sulphide ores are anticipated to be mined and stockpiled in the December quarter.
The COH is 2km from the town of Cloncurry in northern Queensland and will service all four of TNC’s deposits with essential infrastructure, technical systems and support. An active oxide heap leach and solvent extraction (SX) processing plant, mine buildings, site administration facilities, workshops, open pit mine facilities, onsite explosive magazines, site storage, water management systems and existing site power supply are located at the COH.
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