True North Copper (TNC) has approved a mining restart plan for the Cloncurry copper project in Queensland.
This will see two of TNC’s prospective assets, the Great Australia mine (GAM) reserve and the Wallace North resource, combine into one proposed copper, gold and cobalt mining operation.
GAM is currently fully permitted for copper oxide and sulphide production, with a copper concentrator, SX plant, copper sulphate crystallisation plant, and other supporting infrastructure.
The GAM project has JORC 2012 compliant resources containing roughly 79,000 tonnes of copper, 47,000 tonnes of gold, and 1,800 tonnes of cobalt. TNC has been aggressively exploring the area over the past six months, targeting an updated reserve.
Wallace North is a fully permitted and near-term producing project. It has yielded multiple high-grade copper and gold zones during exploration campaigns, such as an impressive one metre intercept that yielded an impressive 14.05 per cent copper and 25.7 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, taken from a relatively shallow depth of 29m.
A maiden reserve for Wallace North is expected in early 2024.
True North commenced copper sulphate production at it’s broader Cloncurry operations in the second half of the year, and expects to ramp up to commercial production levels in the coming months.
TNC managing director Marty Costello said it has been a six-month journey to get to this point, but the company is confident in its plan.
“The fully permitted GAM project presents an opportunity for a low capital expenditure and cash-generative opportunity,” Costello said. “TNC will release an update on project economics for the expanded Cloncurry copper project on completion of the updated GAM reserve and the maiden Wallace North reserve in early 2024.”
Finalised mine plans for the Cloncurry copper project will be announced on completion of the updated GAM reserve and the maiden Wallace North reserve, expected in early 2024.
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