[miningmx.com] — Equinox’s Lumwana copper project in Zambia will hit full production in the second half of 2010, giving it 135,000 tonnes of 300 million pounds (lb) of copper in concentrate, the Toronto-listed company said on Thursday.
Equinox, which is also listed in Australia, built the mine and 20 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) plant for $841m and is ramping up production. Output for 2009 totalled 109,431 tonnes or 241 million lb of copper in concentrate. Plant recoveries increased to 92% by the end of the year and the grade of copper in concentrate averaged 43%.
The availability and use of mining equipment remains an area of focus for the company as the wet weather season sets in.
The cash cost target for 2010 is $1.35/lb. The company said in a November presentation the estimated 2009 cash cost was between $1.35 and $1.50/lb. There were no figures in the year-end statement.
By tweaking the plant and removing bottlenecks for a relatively small amount of money, Equinox reckons it can boost throughput by 20% to 24mtpa. Subject to a feasibility study, it could expand the plant to 30mtpa.
Equinox has completed a bankable feasibility study into a uranium project for a 1.0mtpa plant capable of producing two million lb/year of U3O8. It needs to secure offtake agreements and financing before embarking on the project.
Equinox has stockpiled uranium-bearing ore, building up an inventory of 2.5 million tonnes containing 1,000 parts per million of copper and 0.8% copper. The company estimates to have a uranium resource of 16 million lb.
