Marimaca Secures Water Option for Life of Mine Seawater Supply
November 07 2022 - 6:00AM
Marimaca Copper Corp. (“Marimaca Copper” or the “Company”) (TSX:
MARI) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a water
option agreement to secure the future water supply required for the
Marimaca Copper Project (the “Project”) in Chile. Under the
agreement, seawater would be supplied following its use in cooling
systems at an electricity plant in Mejillones, located 25km from
the Project and operated by one of Chile’s largest energy
suppliers. The option has a term of 5 years, with the ability to
extend for 2 years, and will allow the Company to advance final
Project permitting and technical studies, including water pipeline
studies that are already underway.
The exercise of the option will trigger the
execution of a water supply agreement priced on a take-or-pay basis
for the Project's life of mine, the principal terms of which have
been negotiated and agreed in the option documentation. The agreed
pricing arrangement is at a lower cost than originally projected in
the 2020 Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) (available on
www.sedar.com). As disclosed in the PEA, and consistent with
Marimaca’s 5 phases of metallurgical test work, the Project is
designed to use seawater-based process solutions in place of fresh
water.
Highlights
- Milestone
de-risking event for the Marimaca Copper Project, secures option
for seawater supply to meet the Project’s expected long-term water
supply requirements
- Water
option provides for an expected increase in water supply volume
requirements relative to the 2020 PEA to account for the scale
increases targeted in the planned 2023 Definitive Feasibility Study
(“DFS”)
- Agreement
provides for the minimum expected requirements for an upscaled
50ktpa capacity copper cathode project, with the ability to flex up
and down to certain thresholds according to site water
requirements
-
Operationally efficient means of water supply with
significant environmental benefits, removing the risk for
potentially adverse impacts of sourcing water from other limited
supplies, such as groundwater
- Freshwater
usage is consistently identified as a key risk to operations in the
Atacama region
- Recycled
water that would otherwise be discharged back into the
ocean
- Option
agreement also secures the power supply for required pumping
infrastructure and provides an option to provide 10% of Project
operational power requirements
- Both are
committed to be provided by certified renewable energy sources,
pursuant to power purchase agreements that will be entered into on
customary market terms in the future
Hayden Locke, President & CEO of
Marimaca Copper, commented:
“Our goal is to build an example of a
sustainable mine, minimizing environmental and social impacts,
while also providing a commodity which is fundamental to the future
of our society. Our water strategy, which removes the use of any
natural sources of fresh water, is a fundamental example of this
goal in action.
“Globally, mining accounts for significant
freshwater use and its use in arid regions, in particular, is an
enormous social challenge. According to Wood Mackenzie, mining
accounts for 3.1% of national water usage in Chile. In the Atacama
Region, this climbs to nearly 50%, which is clearly unsustainable
over the long term.
“Securing this supply represents a significant
milestone in our efforts to continuously de-risk our Project
development strategy. It provides clarity and security on a key
input for our Project’s development but also, in partnering with
existing infrastructure providers, materially reduces the
permitting risk. The use of seawater, as well as the green power
supply commitments provided by our partner, represents a
significant achievement with respect to the Sustainability
Commitments we launched earlier this year and continues the path of
our broader objective of developing a sustainable copper mine in
Chile.
“Congratulations to Laura Rich and her Marimaca
team for this important step in our Company’s development and thank
you to our new partners who have worked so diligently with us to
find a solution which results in benefits for both parties and all
of our combined stakeholders in the exciting Marimaca Copper.”
Further information on the Company’s
Sustainability Commitments can be found here.
About Marimaca
Marimaca Copper is a Canadian publicly-listed
exploration and development company focused on exploring for and
developing new copper deposits in Chile. The Company’s shares trade
on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) under the symbol “MARI”.
The Company’s principal asset is the Marimaca
Project, an oxide, open-pit, heap leach copper project located in
the Antofagasta Region of northern Chile. In August 2020, Marimaca
Copper released a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) for the
Marimaca Project which confirmed its potential to be a low capital
cost, high margin, copper mine.
Contact InformationFor further
information please visit www.marimaca.com or contact:
Tavistock +44 (0) 207 920
3150Emily Moss / Adam Baynesmarimaca@tavistock.co.uk
Forward Looking Statements
This news release includes certain
“forward-looking statements” under applicable Canadian securities
legislation. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and
projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon
a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered
reasonable by Marimaca Copper, are inherently subject to
significant business, economic, competitive, political and social
uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and
unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to
be materially different from the results, performance or
achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions
and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such
factors include, without limitation: risks related to share price
and market conditions, the inherent risks involved in the mining,
exploration and development of mineral properties, the
uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other
geological data, fluctuating metal prices, the possibility of
project delays or cost overruns or unanticipated excessive
operating costs and expenses, uncertainties related to the
necessity of financing, the availability of and costs of financing
needed in the future as well as those factors disclosed in the
annual information form of the Company dated March 28, 2022, the
final short form base prospectus and other filings made by the
Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities (which
may be viewed at www.sedar.com). Accordingly, readers should
not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Marimaca
Copper undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise
revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a
result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as
may be required by law.
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the
Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
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