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Peru

Zafranal Project

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StagePermitting
Commodities
  • Copper
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Zafranal property is a mid-sized copper-gold porphyry deposit.

In May 2023, Zafranal received approval of the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) from the Peruvian regulatory authority. The feasibility study was completed in 2019 and subsequent engineering studies have been completed to capture value opportunities and support ongoing project permitting activities. The project is undergoing updates to the feasibility study in preparation for the start of detailed engineering in the second half of 2024.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Mitsubishi Materials Corp. 20 % Indirect
Teck Resources Ltd. 80 % Indirect
The project is held by Compañía Minera Zafranal S.A.C. (CMZ), in which Teck holds an 80% interest, with Mitsubishi Materials Corporation holding the remaining 20%.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Vein / narrow vein
  • Porphyry
  • Breccia pipe / Stockwork

Summary:

Zafranal represents a classic example of an Andean style porphyry copper, gold, and molybdenum deposit.

Porphyry copper-gold mineralization occurs within a large roughly east-west trending hydrothermally altered zone that is more than 7 kilometres in length and as much as 1.7 kilometres in width in a north-south direction. Copper occurs within veins and stockworks and as disseminations in both the Zafranal Main zone and Victoria deposits. At the Zafranal Main zone deposit, primary (hypogene) mineralization is overlain by zones of secondary enrichment mineralization. Copper mineralization has been categorized, based on copper solubility, into leached, mixed, oxide, supergene and primary zones.

Zafranal Main zone.
Drilling on the Zafranal Main zone has demonstrated continuous mineralization over a strike length of at least 2,500 m, widths of between 500 to 800 m, and over a vertical range of up to 1,000 m. The types of copper mineralization are described as follows:

Leached cap and secondary enrichment

The large altered and mineralized area at Zafranal has a subdued colour anomaly. The deposit has been intensely leached with a well-developed leached cap over the top of the supergene-enriched horizon at depth. Very little hypogene sulfide mineralization is present in outcrop, having been strongly leached and/or altered. At surface all forms of sulfides are absent except for occasional pyrite along with chalcopyrite in some more silicified rocks where acid ground waters could not invade the rock and oxidize and leach it.

The best supergene enrichment zone is generally associated with phyllic alteration consisting of a sericite + quartz + chlorite/biotite + clays + pyrite assemblage. The thickness of this zone can reach up to 150 m – averaging 75 m throughout the deposit – with grades up to 7% Cu.

Copper oxides of chrysocolla, neotocite, malachite and azurite generally occur above the main supergene enriched blanket and below the leached cap. This type of oxide copper mineralization is associated with an intense phyllic alteration (sericite + quartz + clays). Oxide mineralization can be up to 50 m thick. The leached cap itself is 30 m to 200 m thick. The copper-oxide zone defines former supergene enrichment zones (paleoblanket) preserved within the oxidized leach zone.

Primary sulfide mineralization
Hypogene mineralization occurs as veins, stockworks, and disseminations in the Zafranal diorite and microdiorite units. The Zafranal diorite at surface contains consistent background copper amounts (typically between 1,000 ppm and 1,500 ppm Cu) and typically presents the highest surface geochemical anomalies on the property. At deeper levels higher-grade hypogene mineralization is closely associated to the intrusive contact with the cross cutting microdiorite. The overlying enriched blanket is much smaller than the underlying hypogene mineralization, though with much higher grades.

Primary sulfide mineralization at the Main zone is hosted mainly by the microdiorite and the Zafranal diorite. This primary mineralization is related to a potassic alteration zone with a quartz secondary biotite-chlorite assemblage. Chalcopyrite is by far the most abundant copper species here and occurs both as disseminations and in veinlets. A- type and B-type veins (quartzchalcopyrite-pyrite and quartz-chalcopyrite-molybdenite respectively) are abundant at Zafranal and average copper grades range from 0.15% to 0.5% Cu, locally increasing up to 1% Cu.

Victoria zone
Mineralization at Victoria is predominantly hypogene and occurs as a tabular body parallel to the main foliation, suggesting that it predates or is contemporaneous with the principal deformation event. Chalcopyrite occurs both as fine-grained disseminations and as patches associated with veins and stockworks. Mineralization within the Victoria zone measures approximately 900 m along strike and up to 500 m width and drilling encountered it down to depths of up to 400 m below surface.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityUnitsAvg. Annual
Copper kt 78
Gold koz 30
All production numbers are expressed as payable metal.

Operational metrics

Metrics
Daily milling capacity  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes processed, LOM  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2021 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Copper USD  ....  Subscribe
C1 cash costs Copper USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Copper USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Gold USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2021 study / presentation.

Financials

Units20222021
Capital expenditures (planned) M USD  ....  Subscribe
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Initial CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
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EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2016

Aerial view:

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