Australian mining and exploration company Sandfire Resources has produced the first copper concentrate at its Motheo copper mine in Botswana.
Located in the Kalahari copper belt about 70km from the town of Ghanzi, the Motheo copper mine has completed over 92% of equipment commissioning activities for the initial 3.2Mtpa processing capacity.
The open-pit mine commenced its development in the financial year 2021 following the completion of a positive definitive feasibility study (DFS) in December 2020.
Sandfire Resources secured the mining licence for the Motheo mine in July 2021.
With a mine life of 10 years, the Motheo copper mine development is based on an initial base case 3.2Mtpa processing capacity and open pit development of the T3 deposit.
The T3 deposit is a sediment-hosted copper and silver deposit located in the Kalahari copper belt.
According to Sandfire Resources, the T3 open pit mining is progressing according to plan with over 270kt of ore at about 1.1% copper and 130kt at nearly 0.7% copper on the run of mine (ROM) pad at the end of April 2023.
The inaugural shipment is expected by mid-2023 and the company is said to focus on completing commissioning activities and ramping-up the processing plant to its initial processing capacity.
It is scheduled to be achieved during the September quarter of FY2024.
Sandfire Resources board has also approved further expansion of the processing plant to 5.2Mtpa by including the A4 deposit and an expanded processing plant.
Besides, the company has secured environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) approval for the A4 deposit expansion plans from the government.
The Motheo 5.2Mtpa expansion is expected to increase copper production rates to around 50ktpa during FY2025.
Sandfire Resources managing director and CEO Brendan Harris said: ‘Achieving these important milestones is an outstanding result for Sandfire and is a tribute to the excellent team that we have at Motheo.
“First concentrate production at our newest mine signals the start of our ramp-up towards the initial 3.2Mtpa capacity, which we expect to achieve on a sustainable basis during the September Quarter of FY2024.
“With the approval of the A4 Project ESIA paving the way for the grant of the A4 Pit mining license, our attention now turns to the delivery of the rapid, low-cost expansion in capacity from 3.2Mtpa to 5.2Mtpa by early CY2024.”
