Marimaca Secures Water Option for
Life of Mine Seawater Supply
Vancouver, British Columbia,
November 7, 2022 -- InvestorsHub NewsWire
-- 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
Information
For further information
please visit www.marimaca.com or contact:
Tavistock
+44 (0) 207 920
3150
Emily Moss / Adam
Baynes
marimaca@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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