Cobalt Blue has advanced its copper-zinc opportunity at the Halls Creek project in Western Australia, with a scoping study now complete.
The study highlighted a low-cost, near-term operation in the Kimberley region, outlining a staged development of the Onedin and Sandiego deposits.
Halls Creek is expected to have a 10.5-year project life, including one year of construction, five years of open-cut mining and processing at Onedin, and 4.5 years of underground operations at Sandiego.
Onedin will be mined using open-cut methods and is gearing up to deliver up to one million tonnes per annum to a heap leach pad.
Copper will be extracted through solvent extraction and electrowinning, producing up to 5000 tonnes of copper metal per year.
Zinc sulphate monohydrate will be produced via solvent extraction and crystallisation, with an average output of 15,000 tonnes per annum of contained zinc.
Sandiego will be mined by underground methods and is expected to deliver up to 700,000 tonnes per annum to a flotation concentrator.
Separate copper and zinc concentrates will be produced, grading 25 per cent copper and 51 per cent zinc respectively.
On average, annual copper concentrate will contain 7300 tonnes of copper and 72,600 ounces of silver with zinc concentrate containing 13,300 tonnes of zinc and 12,100 ounces of silver.
“This is a fresh, modern look at an undeveloped project,” Cobalt Blue chief executive officer Andrew Tong said.
“We believe that the Halls Creek project can be developed for a moderate investment to profitably produce copper and zinc, which are forecast to be in high demand in the coming decade.
“While remaining focused on the Kwinana cobalt refinery, we are thrilled to have acquired a robust project to potentially deliver near-term value to our shareholders.”
Initial capital investment for the Onedin plant and infrastructure is estimated at approximately $73 million.
Sandiego development will require $43 million for plant infrastructure and $106 million for underground decline and access, both funded from operational cash flow.
Estimates are accurate to within plus 35 per cent and minus 15 per cent, with vendor pricing received for 85 per cent of major equipment.
Subscribe to Australian Mining and receive the latest news on product announcements, industry developments, commodities and more.