Candente Copper Corp. (TSX:DNT, BVL:DNT, US:CDOUF) ("Candente
Copper” or “the Company") is pleased to announce that it filed on
March 14th, the National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101 Technical Report
(the “Report”) in support of the Preliminary Economic Assessment
(the “2022 PEA”) completed by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc.
(“Ausenco”) on its Cañariaco copper project in Northern
Peru.
The summary of the 2022 PEA results were
announced on February 8th, 2022, the effective date of the report,
(see Candente Copper NR 145) and there are no material differences
from those results in the report. The report can be found on SEDAR
at www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at
https://candentecopper.com/projects/canariaco-norte-copper-gold-silver/.
The 2022 PEA by Ausenco builds on earlier
advanced engineering studies conducted from 2010 through 2014. Key
highlights follow:
- Initial CapEx of $1.04 B with
throughput of 40,000 tonnes per day (“tpd”) mine and plant;
- After-tax NPV of US$1,010 M for
base case of US$3.50/lb Cu, US$1,650/oz Au, US$21.50/oz Ag, and 8%
discount rate;
- After-tax NPV increases to US$1,833
M, with an IRR of 21.9% and payback of 4.5 years when using a
copper price of US$4.50/lb.
- Payback of pre-production capital
in 7.1 years using base case price of US$3.50/lb Cu and 4.5 years
using US$4.50/lb Cu;
- Average annual metal production of
173 Mlb (78,543 tonnes) Cu, 31,395 oz Au, and 703,588 oz Ag during
the life-of mine (“LOM”);
- Average annual metal production of
120 Mlb (54,539 tonnes) Cu, 24,375 oz Au, and 548,667 oz Ag for the
first six years;
- Average annual metal production of
193 Mlb (87,475 tonnes) Cu, 34,243 oz Au per year, and 766,753 oz
Ag per year for the second mine phase, which will run for 21.4
years;
- Average LOM metal recoveries of
88.1% for Cu, 64.7% for gold and 57.2% for silver;
- Concentrate grades forecast to
average approximately 26% Cu, 3.63 g/t Au and 84.16 g/t Ag for
first six years;
- LOM Concentrate grades are
projected to average approximately 26% Cu, 3.27 g/t Au and 75.40
g/t Ag;
- Mine and plant expansion to 80,000
tpd in year 7 with additional CapEx of $305 M from cash flow;
- Cash operating cost of US$1.28/lb
of copper including all on-site and off-site costs, treatment and
refining charges (“TC/RC"), net of by-product credits;
- Advanced ESG development strategies
result in improved Infrastructure Design including a single waste
management facility (WMF) with co-mingling and co-placement of
waste rock and filtered mill tailings creating a smaller overall
footprint further distanced from populated areas;
- Waste to mineralized material strip
ratio of 0.66:1;
- Highly leveraged to copper
prices;
- LOM metal production of 4,848 Mlb
(2,199,215 tonnes) Cu, 879,051 oz Au, and 19,700,467 oz Ag;
- Conventional crush/grind and
flotation technology;
- Decreased OpEx with marketable
concentrate with no need for arsenic
treatment;
- Pre-production capital cost of
US$1.04 B is based on leased mining equipment and includes a
contingency allocation of 18.5%;
- All-in capital cost of US$1.57 B
based on leased mining equipment and including life-of-mine
sustaining capital, expansion capital and closure cost;
- 28-year mine life, with potential
for extension if additional resources identified below proposed pit
can be included in a mine plan;
- Located at a moderate elevation
with pit centroid and process plant at approximately 3,000 metres
above sea level;
- Connection to the national power
grid is planned to be by direct line approximately 55 km from the
project site to the Carhuaquero substation site;
- Significant potential for discovery
of additional mineralization at nearby Cañariaco Sur and Quebrada
Verde targets.
The Cañariaco Norte Mineral Resource estimate
has been updated (see the Company’s news release NR 144 dated
January 28, 2022) and using a 0.15% Cu applied cut-off, which
represents an approximate breakeven cut-off, contains 9.29 Blb Cu,
2.14 Moz Au and 59.43 Moz Ag in the Measured and Indicated
categories as well as 2.66 Blb Cu, 0.55 Moz Au and 18 Moz Ag in the
Inferred category.
Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral
Resources were used in the 2022 PEA mine plan. Within the ultimate
pit, at the $6.52/t NSR cut-off the classification breakdown of the
mill feed material is 54% Measured Mineral Resources, 38% Indicated
Mineral Resources and 8% Inferred Mineral Resources.
The 2022 PEA is preliminary in nature. It
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 and there is no certainty that the 2022 PEA will be
realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not
have demonstrated economic viability.
An Inferred Mineral Resource estimate was also
recently completed for a portion of Cañariaco Sur which contains
2.2 Blb Cu, 1.2 Moz Au and 15 Moz Ag (NR 144), however the 2022 PEA
mine plan only includes resources from Cañariaco Norte.
About Candente Copper
The Company’s flagship project is Cañariaco,
within which Cañariaco Norte, is the 10th largest late-stage copper
resource in the world and 6th highest in grade (RFC Ambrian,
December 2021 and Haywood, December 2021). In addition to Cañariaco
Norte, the Cañariaco Project, includes the Cañariaco Sur deposit
and Quebrada Verde prospect, all within a 4km NE-SW trend in
northern Peru’s prolific mining district.
The Company is very pleased to now have
Cañariaco Norte included in 4 research reports that compare various
global copper projects. RFC Ambrian: Cañariaco
Norte in top 10 of 23 projects with potential to involve third
party M&A (December 2021); Haywood: Cañariaco
Norte is one of 18 assets selected as likely to be considered by
majors looking to acquire (December 2021); Deutsche
Bank: Cañariaco Norte identified as one of 3 projects
required to meet the upcoming copper supply-demand gap (February
2021); Goldman Sachs: Cañariaco Norte identified
with incentive copper price in the lowest quartile of the top 84
copper projects worldwide (October 2018).
About AusencoAusenco is a
global company redefining what's possible. Its team is based
across 26 offices in 14 countries, with projects in over 80
locations worldwide. Combining their deep technical expertise with
a 30-year track record, Ausenco provides innovative, value-add
consulting and engineering studies and project delivery, asset
operations and maintenance solutions to the mining & metals,
oil & gas and industrial sectors.
Joanne Freeze, P.Geo., President, CEO, Director
is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101
for the projects discussed above. She has reviewed and approved the
contents of this release.
This press release contains forward-looking
information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws
(“forward-looking statements”). Forward-looking statements are
typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate,
intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are
those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All
statements that are not statements of historical fact are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this
press release include, without limitation: the results of the 2022
PEA, including the projected CapEx, the estimated after-tax NPV and
IRR, the estimated mine life and estimated concentrate grades; the
potential production from and viability of the Cañariaco Project;
the risks and opportunities outlined in the 2022 PEA; the potential
tonnage, grades and content of deposits; the extent of mineral
resource estimates; and estimated production and operating costs.
These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this
press release. Although the Company believes the forward-looking
statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no
assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements
will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any
forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of
future results or performance, and are subject to risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause
events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and
assumptions include, among others, variations in market conditions;
the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may
be located; metal prices; other prices and costs; currency exchange
rates; the Company’s ability to obtain any necessary permits,
consents or authorizations required for its activities; the
Company’s ability to access further funding and produce minerals
from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its
projected growth, or to be fully able to implement its business
strategies. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors
which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements
to differ materially from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. Known risk factors include risks
associated with exploration and project development; the need for
additional financing; the calculation of mineral resources;
operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing;
fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; government regulation;
obtaining and renewing necessary licenses and permits;
environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel;
local community opposition; currency fluctuations; labour disputes;
competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and
volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other
risk factors described in the Company’s annual information form and
other filings with Canadian securities regulators, which may be
viewed at www.sedar.com. Although we have attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual actions, events or
results to differ materially from those described in
forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause
actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or
intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements
will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events
could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or
alter any forward-looking statements except as required under
applicable securities laws. CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S.
INVESTORSWe advise U.S. investors that this news release uses terms
defined in the 2014 edition of the Canadian Institute of Mining,
Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) “CIM Definition Standards on Mineral
Resources and Mineral Reserves”, as incorporated by reference in
Canadian National Instrument 43-101 “Standards of Disclosure for
Mineral Projects”, for reporting of mineral resource
estimates. These Canadian standards, including NI 43-101,
differ from the requirements of the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) as set forth in the mining disclosure
rules under Regulation S-K 1300. Regulation S-K 1300 uses the
same terminology for mineral resources, but the definitions are not
identical to NI 43-101 and CIM Definition Standards.
Regulation S-K 1300 uses the term “initial assessment” for an
evaluation of potential project economics based on mineral
resources. This study type has some similarities to a
Preliminary Economic Assessment, but the definition and content
requirements of an initial assessment are not identical to the
definition and content requirements for a PEA under NI 43-101.
On behalf of the Board of Candente
Copper Corp.
“Joanne C. Freeze” P.Geo., President, CEO and
Director
For further information please contact:Jonathan
PatersonJonathan.Paterson@HarborAccessllc.com+1 475 455
9401
info@candentecopper.com www.candentecopper.com
NR-146
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