True North Copper (TNC) will commence mining ore at its Cloncurry copper project in Queensland later this year.
Mining is targeted at the Wallace North reserve for the fourth quarter of the year (Q4 FY23).
Following heavy rainfall events in February and March, the company advanced several preparatory works for the Wallace North restart, including:
- mobilisation of mining equipment and support infrastructure
- preparation of existing access and haulage roads for mining activities
- completion of short-term scheduling by technical service teams
- onboarding of skilled mining fleet operators.
The mining ramp-up will initially build ore stockpiles, with haulage expected to start in mid-May 2024.
“This is an exciting and transformative phase for TNC,” TNC managing director Marty Costello said.
“Thanks to the hard work of our mining operations team we are prepared and ready to deliver on our Cloncurry copper project mining restart plan with mining commencing at Wallace North in early Q4 FY24.
“CCP project economics confirm a robust mining operation that is low risk and low-cost.”
TNC projects the mine to rake in $367 million in revenue with a free cash flow of $111 million.
The Cloncurry project also incorporates the Great Australia mine reserve, Taipan and Orphan Shear, totalling 4.7 million tonnes grading at 0.8 per cent copper and 0.13 per cent gold.
This year, TNC is prioritising several exploration targets which offer to the potential to add significant tonnes to Cloncurry’s life of mine.
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