Pumpkin Hollow Project Has Record Monthly Production
YERINGTON, NV - Nevada Copper Corp. reported positive operations advances at its Pumpkin Hollow Project, including record monthly production and continued expectation of up to 5kptd achieved in Q3 as planned, and previously guided.
“We are pleased with the progress continuing to show at Pumpkin Hollow at the underground mine, open pit project, and exploration initiatives”, said Randy Buffington, CEO. “The team has done a remarkable job of continuing to safely advance the ramp-up in the key areas of development, stoping, and processing. We look forward to continuing this progress towards steady state production on schedule for later this year.”
In March, as the company continues to improve stoping rates, record copper production was achieved. 1,300 dmt of copper concentrates were produced during the last 30 days from multiple stopes, including the high-grade Sugar Cube zone. The commissioning of the paste plant line, planned to be completed in April 2022, along with other operational improvements, is projected to facilitate quicker stope turnover leading to further increases in hoisting and production rates.
3ktpd Hoisting Achieved in March. Peak 7-day continuous hoisting rates reached 2,600 tpd in March, including achieving hoisting of 3ktpd earlier than anticipated which represents a significant production ramp-up progress milestone. Operational focus is on sustaining and increasing the 3ktpd rate in Q2, and the plan remains to reach a capacity of 4.5k to 5ktpd during Q3 2022 as previously announced.
Ramp-up Continues Positive Momentum - Q1 2022 development rates are a 32% quarter-on-quarter increase over Q4 2021. Q1 2022 hoisted ore tons are a 73% quarter-on quarter increase over Q4 2021. Stope ore tons hoisted are a 17% quarter-on-quarter increase over Q4 2021, continuing the trajectory of month-on-month increases over the past 6 months. Enhanced contractor management procedures and key performance indicators are in place to further increase productivity going forward and allow greater access to additional stopes.
All surface ventilation infrastructure arrived as planned in Q1 2022. The commissioning of the surface ventilation fans has been optimized to allow for the prioritization of ore development and is planned to be completed in Q2 in line with increased production.
Milestones in the second quarter to increase ore hoisting rates: 1) Completion of paste plant commissioning, enabling significantly faster stope cycles. 2) Mining of additional high-grade ore zones. 3) Construction of a third ore pass advanced, which when completed, enables a further increase in ore handling rates towards nameplate capacity. 4) Sequentially higher month-on-month hoisted volumes and concentrate production. 5) Completion of current dike heading to access further higher grade stopes.
Most constraints encountered in Q4 2021 and early Q1 2022 have been resolved during Q1. The bolting fleet was refurbished, resulting in demonstrated increases in equipment availability; a damaged remote loader has been scheduled to be replaced shortly; lower contractor delivery was resolved and new KPIs agreed. While these items, plus higher property taxes, increased the cost of ramp-up execution beyond plan, the Company expects to obtain sufficient funds to address these additional costs, including the $15m accordion to its existing Credit Facility.
Drill rigs are scheduled to arrive to site and drilling to commence this month. The initial focus of the program will be in-fill and extension drilling of the open pit, to follow up on the last drilling program which identified significant additional mineralization and indicated the orebody which remains open in multiple directions, extends beyond the original pit boundary. The drilling program will also provide updated geological information for advancing the fully permitted Open Pit Project into feasibility evaluation reflecting opportunities for increased scale, larger resource and other optimization workstreams. An updated prefeasibility study is expected in Q3 2022 to incorporate the higher copper price environment.
The Company has continued to progress the planned feasibility studies for a potential solar project, with renewables consulting group Warm Springs Consulting. In addition, it continues to review and evaluate its extensive mineral landholdings at and around Pumpkin Hollow. This ongoing review of the detailed aeromagnetic surveys and continued surface reconnaissance will provide a broader understanding of the geologic model and targeting across Nevada Copper’s land package. The review will help direct exploration activities in 2022 on newly acquired lands and targets around the existing deposits. The work on the new ground will include surface mapping, sampling, trenching and follow up drilling. The areas of work include the Porphyry, Tedeboy, Mountain View and Black Mountain targets. Geophysical and structural targets around the existing deposits are expected to be followed up with drilling projected to begin in Q3 2022.