GUNNISON PROJECT
The Gunnison Project is located about 65 miles east of Tucson, Arizona on the southeastern flank of the Little Dragoon Mountains in the Cochise Mining District. The property is within the copper porphyry belt of Arizona. The Gunnison Project hosts the Gunnison deposit and contains copper oxide and sulfide mineralization in potentially economic concentrations.
The Company completed a PEA in Q4 2024, outlining an open pit heap leach and SX/EW operation extending over 18 years and producing LME Grade A copper cathodes directly onsite.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
- Private and State land package and 100% ownership in Tier 1 jurisdiction
- Onsite power, rail and water in place
- Simple open pit heap-leach and SXEW operation
- Permitting framework is simple and streamlined with the State
NEXT STEPS
- Metallurgy and infill drilling
- Pre-Feasibility Study
- Definitive Feasibility Study
- Construction Decision
Highlights of the PEA (United States dollars)
- The Gunnison Project, a fully vertically integrated operation producing finished copper cathode on-site in Arizona for domestic U.S. supply chains, has an after-tax net present value (8%) of $1.3 billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 20.9% at a long-term copper price of $4.10/lb;
- One of the most substantial open pit copper projects in the U.S. with total Measured and Indicated (“M&I”) Mineral Resources in the open pit of 551 million tons at a total copper grade of 0.35%, capable of supplying 8% of recent annual U.S. domestic copper production[1]
- Simplified and lower risk path to permitting; the Gunnison Project has current operating permits and there is a more streamlined amendment process to State and Local permits to proceed with open pit mining;
- Significant benefits for the community and local economy through the payment of over $840 million in U.S. federal, state, and local taxes, partnerships with local institutions such as Cochise College, and the creation of over 650 local jobs;
- Average annual copper cathode production of 83,700 tons (167 million lbs) over the first 16 years and total production of 1,355,900 tons (2,712 million lbs) over the entire 18 year mine life at an average Cash Cost (C1) of $1.42/lb and Sustaining Cash Cost[1] of $1.94/lb of copper produced;
- Total initial capital cost of $1.3 billion and after-tax payback period for initial capital of 4.1 years;
Environmental advantages include lower water usage per pound of copper produced versus copper concentrate producers, up to 10% reduced energy consumption due to on-site clean energy production, and zero risk of environmental impacts from tailings dam failures as there are no tailings produced.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the conclusions reached in the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
[1] U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2024
[2] Sustaining Cash Cost = Cash Cost + Sustaining Capex + Deferred Stripping + Royalties
