Arizona Sonoran Copper said that its fully owned brownfield Cactus copper project in the US will require an initial capital expenditure (capex) of $668m, based on the findings of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
The emerging copper developer and producer company said that the American copper project will have a project life of around 31 years.
Located in Arizona, the Cactus project consists of three deposits and one stockpile, including the past producing Sacaton mine. The deposits are known as Cactus East, Cactus West, and Parks/Salyer deposits.
The PEA for the Cactus project incorporates the Parks/Salyer additions from the MainSpring property as inferred mineral resources, which have been re-evaluated as an open-pit operation.
According to the study, the copper project will have an average annual throughput of 29 million tonnes, resulting in the production of approximately 86,000 tonnes of copper cathodes per year. This is expected to create a lower-risk brownfield open-pit mining operation with an extended mine life.
Copper cathodes will be produced directly onsite through heap leaching, solvent extraction, and electrowinning (SXEW), including a four-year ramp-up period.
Arizona Sonoran Copper projects senior vice president Bernie Loyer said: “The evolution of the MainSpring and Parks/Salyer open pit combination as demonstrated by this PEA presents a profound change to the Cactus Mine 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 more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs and more than $2.2 billion in life of mine federal and state tax revenues, Cactus Mine is anticipated to become a cornerstone business for the local economy.”
The PEA estimates an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $2.03bn for the American brownfield copper project. It projects a post-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 24% with an after-tax payback period of 4.9 years.
The Cactus copper project is estimated to generate a free cash flow of $7.3bn over the life of the project.
Arizona Sonoran Copper expects to complete a pre-feasibility study (PFS) in the first half of 2025 following the release of the PEA.
This will be followed by an early works programme, with a feasibility study anticipated in the second half of 2025. The company is also planning to secure a project financing for the Cactus copper project along with a potential construction decision.
