[miningmx.com] — First Quantum Minerals on Monday provided a resource and capex update on its Sentinel copper project in Zambia, saying the asset had a measured and indicated resource of over one billion tonnes and reserves of 774 million tonnes at 0.5% copper.
At a stripping ratio of 2.2:1, these reserves gave the project an estimated mine life in excess of 15 years, with potential to increase with planned delineation drilling and future successful exploration.
“These independent third-party estimates confirm those of our exploration team and justify our plans to develop Sentinel into a state-of-the-art facility capable of producing up to 300,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate annually,” said CEO and chairman Philip Pascall.
“Our strategy is to develop this facility over a two-year timeframe at the same time as a new copper smelter in Zambia that would process all of Sentinel’s concentrate production, eliminating the need to export concentrate to offshore smelters.
“Altogether, we estimate Sentinel and the smelter project will require a capital investment of over $2.4bn, including an extensive infrastructure development program, and create approximately 2,400 direct jobs for Zambians.”
