Feasibility Study for Omitiomire Open Pit Copper Project Reports $224 Million NPV

Copper developer, Omico Copper, has reported results from the Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) on its 95%-owned Omitiomire Copper Project.

Omico is a joint venture between Greenstone Resources LP, a private equity fund specialising in the mining and metals sector, and International Base Metals Limited, an Australian natural resources unlisted public company.

Key Performance Indicators (at US$4.50/lb copper):

• US$224 million Net Present Value (NPV) (8% discount, after-tax)
• 18% Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) (after tax)
• 7 Years Payback Period
• Life of Mine (LoM) 15 years
• Capital Intensity of US$12,480/t copper cathode
• LoM Gross Revenue of US$3.8 billion
• LoM Free Cash Flow (FCF) of US$644 million
• Cash costs (C1) of US$5,836/tonne copper cathode
• All in Sustaining Costs (AISC) of US6,133/tonne of copper
• Average copper cathode production of 26,800 tonnes per annum (total of 381,650 tonnes of copper cathode produced over the LoM).
• Peak annual production of 32,000t per annum by Year 2 of operation.

As previously noted, a BFS was started in 2023 but subsequently paused in order to complete additional metallurgical test work.

We are pleased to report that underpinning the BFS now is a comprehensive and robust metallurgical test work programme completed over 3 years comprising 4 phases and 25 full-size columns. This work was undertaken by MJO Ingenieria y Consultores and Metalurgica (MJOI), the Chilean consultancy firm widely recognised as a world expert in chloride heap leaching, and overseen by the projects owners team that includes significant global metallurgical experience, with in excess of 40 years combined experience.

The BFS now incorporates the results from that final phase which has delivered significant economic benefits driven by low acid consumption (9kg/t) and short leach times (119 days). These two important drivers of value make Omitiomire a stand out copper project. 

The shorter leach time has resulted in a change of strategy on the heap leach design from a static to a dynamic facility. In addition to this, the Solvent Extraction (SX) has been designed to cope with a high-grade copper solution and the plant throughput has been increased to take into account lower grade ore feed based on lower operating costs (due to reduced acid consumption and reduced leach time).

As noted above, these new extraction rates and the revised processing route materially improve the economics of the project, producing a total of 382,000 tonnes of LME Grade A Copper Cathode over a 15-year operating mine life using chloride heap leaching with solvent extraction and electrowinning (SXEW), an established and industry standard hydrometallurgical extraction technology.

Mark Sawyer, Partner – Greenstone Resources LP, commented, “As the manager of this project, we are excited to be able to report an extremely exciting milestone in the Omico development.  Against a backdrop of scarce quality copper projects and rising demand, the Bankable Feasibility Study has defined a highly compelling copper mining operation, on a standalone basis. We look forward to the next phase of development. There is no doubt the Phase 4 metallurgical test work, included in this Bankable Feasibility Study, is a significant enhancement to the Omitiomire business case. That impact can be gauged in the project’s robust economics and also in the contribution that this generational asset is expected to make to our local communities for years to come. With the anticipated creation of 800 to 1,000 direct jobs and US500 million in life of mine royalties and corporate taxes.