Nevada Copper is currently completing the penetration of the dyke structure at the mine. The company reported in May that development rates were reduced temporarily due to ground and hydrological conditions associated with the dyke, as grouting and ground control were needed. It plans to complete the dyke crossing in the next two weeks, which means it expects to increase lateral development rates this month back to what was originally planned.
The company stated that all underground ventilation plans have been installed and commissioned as planned in May. The final surface fans are scheduled for delivery in the September quarter and for commissioning in the December quarter. As a result, the company expects to achieve steady-state production in the December quarter.
Mineral processing contractor Sedgman, which won the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the surface plant and infrastructure at Pumpkin Hollow in 2018, successfully completed C5 testing of the processing plant for grind size and moisture in June.
"I am pleased with the continued progress with the ramp-up from Pumpkin Hollow," said Mike Ciricillo, CEO of Nevada Copper. "The safe penetration of the dyke and commissioning of the underground ventilation system are significant de-risking steps and facilitate increasing development and production rates, as we progress to steady-state. the longer-term mine planning work being advanced indicates future potential upside for both underground and open pit projects."
As part if its project development objectives, Nevada Copper has progressed its life-of-mine planning and is increasing its projected production rate for the underground mine. It originally estimated a production rate of 5,000 short tons per day (4,536t/d), but the company stated that mine planning work in the June quarter supports the potential for the mine to produce 6,500 short tons per day (5,897t/d) once ramped up to steady state.
The additional production capacity would increase annual copper production in the long term, as well as supporting accelerated mining of the additional copper resources that are around the current underground reserve. The company plans to undertake further engineering work in the second half of the year to support the potential for a higher long-term production rate from the underground operation.
Nevada Copper is also examining the possibility of a solar power project at Pumpkin Hollow, as the site has plenty of space and receives a lot of sunlight. Renewables consulting group Sprout Associates is completing a feasibility study on the initiative, and its initial conclusions suggest that the site has potential for a large solar project generating up to 200MW of power, which would meet a significant portion of the power requirements at the open pit.
The study noted that the grid power costs in Nevada are already low, but the mine's power costs would be even lower with an on-site solar plant. In addition, a third-party solar project could be an option to remove the upfront costs of power infrastructure from the open-pit project at Pumpkin Hollow. Nevada Copper said that it will provide further updates on the solar power project when the next phase of study work is complete.
