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Indonesia
Wetar Mine

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 Location:
87 km N from Baucau, Indonesia

  Regional Office:
The Convergence Indonesia 20th Floor, Jl. HR. Rasuna Said, Karet Kuningan Setiabudi
Jakarta
Indonesia
12940
Phone+62-21-29-880-393
Fax+62-21-29-880-392
EmailEmail
WebsiteWeb
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  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

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Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Copper
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start2010
Mine Life3 years (as of Jan 1, 2020)


Owners

Source: p. 126
CompanyInterestOwnership
PT Batutua Kharisma Permai (operator) 100 % Indirect
PT Batutua Tembaga Raya (operator) 100 % Direct
PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk 100 % Indirect
In May 2021, Merdeka Group has owned 100% of the Wetar Copper Mine, following the completion of acquisition of 22% interest in BTR from Posco International Corporation. BTR is also the owner of 70% of BKP, with the remaining 30% of BKP directly owned by Merdeka.

The mining of copper is carried out by BKP while processing and refining is carried out by BTR as the holder of a Production Operation Mining Business License (“IUP OPK”) specifically for Processing and Refining of Copper Metal Mineral.

Contractors



Deposit Type

  • VMS

Source: Source p.41-42

Summary:

Wetar Island is composed of Neogene volcanic rocks and minor oceanic sediments and forms part of the Inner Banda Arc. The island preserves ~4.7 million-year-old precious metal-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide and barite deposits.

The polymetallic massive sulphides are dominated by pyrite, with minor primary chalcopyrite and lesser bornite cut by late fractures infilled with sulphosalts, tennantite-tetrahedrite and enargite. The sulphosalts have replaced primary chalcopyrite and bornite to varying extents across Kali Kuning, Lerokis and Partolang, and these have in turn been replaced by supergene chalcocite and covellite to varying extents.

Barite-rich orebodies are developed on the flanks of the sulphide units and locally overly the massive sulphides.

Sulphide mounds showing talus textures are localised onto faults, which provided the main pathways for high-temperature hydrothermal fluids and the development of associated stockworks.

Known orebodies are closely associated with quartz-porphyry dacites which occur within the basalts/andesites and are surrounded by widespread propylitic and argillic alteration haloes. Hydrothermal alteration around the various orebodies is zoned and dominated by illitekaolinite- smectite with local alunite and pyrophyllite.

The sulphide mounds and related barite bodies were covered and preserved by post-mineralisation chert, gypsum, calcareous siltstone, limestone, lahars, subaqueous debris flows, volcaniclastic rocks and locally fresh dacitic lava flows at Partolang.

Gold-silver mineralisation occurs predominantly within barite-rich units, including sands, tuffs and breccias (after original dacitic rocks), which are strongly ferruginised locally. In some of the dacitic rocks, barite and hydrated iron minerals have completely replaced the host units, with original breccia textures no longer visible.

The economic copper mineralisation occurs predominantly within coherent massive sulphide units and locally in dacitic breccia units which, have been almost completely replaced by sulphides, with some minor lower-grade material occurring in fractures and as stockworks within intensely altered andesitic and dacitic tuffs and volcanics in the footwall and lateral extent of the massive sulphides. Not all massive sulphides are mineralised.

The contact between the massive sulphides, barite, footwall and hangingwall units is generally quite sharp.


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader

Source:

Summary:

Wetar Copper is a copper mine located on Wetar Island, Maluku Barat Daya Regency, Maluku Province.

Commercial production of Wetar Copper started in 2010, consists of open pit mine, associated heap leach operation and solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) plant which produces copper metal.

Wetar comprises three open pits: Lerokis, Kali Kuning and Partolang. Mining activities at Lerokis and Kali Kuning pits were completed. Since October 2020, mining operations commenced at the Partolang Pit.


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Crush-and-stack plant
  • Heap leach
  • Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning

Source: Source

Summary:

Partolang ore is processed via heap leaching SX-EW and incorporated into the existing 28 kt/a operation located in the Kali Kuning valley 2 km distant.

Nine columns in total are being prepared and eight of the column tests are underway for Partolang. Three of the columns have been active for 100 days, three other columns have been active for 83 days and 2 others for 46 days. The columns are designed to test each of the main ore units (i.e. MPY, PBX2 and SBX), run of mill composites, column height, high ferric/ferrous ratio in lixiviant, low acid, and low iron content in lixiviant.

Results from the initial columns suggest reasonable recoveries, with 75.2% recovered from SBX, 47.3% recovered from MPY, and 66.4% recovered from PBX2 etc after 100 days under irrigation. The columns that have been active for 83 days, testing ROM composites, high ferric and lower column height have recovered 58-65%, whilst those for 46 days testing lower acid and TDS have recovered 50-56%.

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameter20212020201920182017
Copper Head Grade, % 1.982.062.852.582

Production:

CommodityUnits202220212020201920182017
Copper t 18,000-22,000 ^19,0455,37716,77717,07122,969
All production numbers are expressed as cathode. ^ Guidance / Forecast.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics20212020201920182017
Ore tonnes mined 2.4 Mt0.5 Mt2.3 Mt1,587,951 t1,884,400 t
Waste 11.1 Mt2.4 Mt3.8 Mt1,408,672 t650,279 t
Annual production capacity 25,000 t of copper cathode25,000 t of copper cathode25,000 t of copper cathode25,000 t of copper cathode25,000 t of copper cathode
Tonnes processed 2.4 Mt0.4 Mt
Annual processing capacity 2.5 Mt2.5 Mt2.5 Mt

Reserves at December 31, 2021:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Proven 4.5 Mt Copper 1.1 %
Probable 2.8 Mt Copper 2.8 %
Proven & Probable 7.3 Mt Copper 1.7 % 125 kt
Measured 6 Mt Copper 1.29 %
Measured 6 Mt Gold 0.43 g/t
Measured 6.4 Mt Silver 15 g/t
Indicated 4.3 Mt Copper 1.47 %
Indicated 4.3 Mt Gold 0.54 g/t
Indicated 4.3 Mt Silver 22 g/t
Inferred 1.5 Mt Copper 0.86 %
Inferred 1.5 Mt Gold 0.32 g/t
Inferred 1.5 Mt Silver 15 g/t
Total Resource 11.7 Mt Copper 1.3 % 153 kt
Total Resource 11.7 Mt Gold 0.46 g/t 172 koz
Total Resource 12.2 Mt Silver 18 g/t 6.9 M oz

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnits202220212020201920182017
Cash costs Copper USD 1.7 / lb   3.41 / lb   1.29 / lb   1.49 / lb   1.05 / lb  
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Copper USD 3.25 / lb ^   2.33 / lb   4.62 / lb   1.86 / lb   1.73 / lb   1.56 / lb  
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Financials:

Units202120202019201820172016
Revenue M USD 161.9  31.9  99.2   155   209.5   73.6  
Pre-tax Income M USD 19.2  -31.6  -5.6   20.7   57.3   -17.8  
After-tax Income M USD 11.4   56.3   -13.1  
EBITDA M USD 100  -12  41   38   73  



Heavy Mobile Equipment:

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
General Manager Ryan Whyte LinkedIn Sep 29, 2022
Metallurgical Superintendent Brian Swahadana LinkedIn Sep 29, 2022
Process Superintendent Agus Praseteo LinkedIn Sep 29, 2022
Sr. Operations Manager Edi Widodo LinkedIn Sep 29, 2022

Staff:

Total WorkforceYear
1,100 2021
1,100 2020
873 2019

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
Corporate Presentation 2022
Annual Report 2021
Corporate Presentation 2021
Quarterly Report 2021
Annual Report 2020
Corporate Presentation 2020
Corporate Presentation 2020
Quarterly Report 2020
Annual Report 2019
Quarterly Report 2019
Annual Report 2018
Annual Report 2017
Annual Report 2016

Aerial view:

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