Overview
Stage | Preliminary Economic Assessment |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
- Molybdenum
- Copper
- Silver
- Tungsten
- Rhenium
- Sulphuric acid
|
Mining Method |
|
Mine Life | 28 years (as of Jan 1, 2020) |
CuMo Project is the largest un-mined molybdenum project in the world. |
Source:
p. 14
International CuMo Mining Corporation (ICMC) (formerly Idaho CuMo Mining Corporation) is a majority owned subsidiary of American CuMo Mining Corporation
The CuMo project is held by a wholly owned USA subsidiary of CuMoCo, Idaho CuMo Corporation (ICMC).
Contractors
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Deposit Type
- Porphyry
- Vein / narrow vein
Summary:
The CuMo deposit is a porphyry type deposit and has been classified as a porphyry copper molybdenum deposit (Klein, 2004; Spanski, 2004), or as a porphyry molybdenum-copper (low fluorine type) deposit (Mutchler et al, 1999).
The CuMo deposit is primarily of economic interest for its Mo content but contains significant values of Cu and Ag. Low-grade zones of copper enrichment typically form above and partially overlap with molybdenum shells in porphyry molybdenum deposits (Carten et al, 1993). The CuMo deposit is classified as a porphyry Mo-Cu deposit (Mo greater than 0.04% and Cu being potentially economically significant).
The CuMo deposit is typical of large, dispersed, low-grade molybdenum ± copper deposits. These systems are associated with hybrid magmas typified by fluorine-poor, differentiated monzogranite igneous complexes, characteristic of continental arc terranes. Due to their larger size, the total contained potentially economic molybdenum in these types of deposits can be equivalent to or exceed that of high-grade molybdenum deposits such as Henderson or Climax (Carten et al, 1993).
Molybdenum mineralization was discovered at CuMo in 1963. The only other molybdenum showing in Boise County is the Little Falls molybdenum prospect, which is situated just to the northeast of CuMo.
Mineralization on the property occurs in veins and veinlets developed within various intrusive bodies. Molybdenite occurs within quartz ve ........

Summary:
The CuMo project is envisaged to be developed using open pit mining techniques. The scale of the deposit is such that ultra-class mining equipment (e.g. 400-ton trucks) has been considered for the purposes of this PEA. As well, to improve the head grade of the flotation mill feed, the author has considered the implementation of mineral sorting for the project. Specifically, the author envisions a multi-stage bulk sorting process accompanied by a final particle-sorting stage to upgrade the mil feed. The result of the mineral sorting strategies is a reduction of waste fed to the mill, thereby improving feed head grade. There is however added cost, but this is all taken into consideration in determining the potential mineable resource for the project.
Pit wall slopes used in the PEA were given for ground elevation intervals and became shallower with pit depth i.e. the upper interval was 45°, the next 40°, and the north south and west walls had a lower interval of 35°.
At an ultimate depth of over 600 m, the conceptual design walls are significantly higher than most operating mines in North America. The precedent for cases is very limited but the pits that are of those heights have all encountered slope stability problems in some areas of the mine. The plot suggests that these proposed overall slope angles (OSA) fall around FoS of equity and may not be achievable.
Pit Slope Recommendations
For the PEA pit design, the author recomme ........

Source:
Flow Sheet:
Summary:

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Projected Production:
Commodity | Product | Units | Avg. Annual | LOM |
Molybdenum
|
Metal in concentrate
|
M lbs
| 43 | 1,292 |
Copper
|
Metal in concentrate
|
M lbs
| ......  | ......  |
Silver
|
Metal in concentrate
|
koz
| ......  | ......  |
Molybdenum Equivalent
|
|
M lbs
| | ......  |
Operational Metrics:
Metrics | |
Daily mining rate
| 400 k tons * |
Daily ore mining rate
| 200 k tons * |
Daily processing rate
| 150 k tons * |
Annual processing capacity
| 54.8 M tons * |
Stripping / waste ratio
| 1.12 * |
Waste tonnes, LOM
| 2,425 M tons * |
Ore tonnes mined, LOM
| 2,190 M tons * |
Total tonnes mined, LOM
| 4,615 M tons * |
Tonnes processed, LOM
| 1,582 M tons * |
* According to 2020 study.
Reserves at October 15, 2019:
The base case $5.00 cut-off is suggested to separate waste from material that is fed to the sorters.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Measured
|
297.2 M tons
|
Molybdenum
|
0.081 %
|
288.6 M lbs
|
Measured
|
297.2 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.076 %
|
451.7 M lbs
|
Measured
|
297.2 M tons
|
Silver
|
2.09 g/t
|
18.1 M oz
|
Measured
|
297.2 M tons
|
Rhenium
|
0.03 ppm
|
|
Measured
|
297.2 M tons
|
Sulphur
|
0.229 %
|
|
Indicated
|
1,972 M tons
|
Molybdenum
|
0.053 %
|
1,253 M lbs
|
Indicated
|
1,972 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.085 %
|
3,353 M lbs
|
Indicated
|
1,972 M tons
|
Silver
|
2.57 g/t
|
147.8 M oz
|
Indicated
|
1,972 M tons
|
Rhenium
|
0.019 ppm
|
|
Indicated
|
1,972 M tons
|
Sulphur
|
0.269 %
|
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,270 M tons
|
Molybdenum
|
0.057 %
|
1,551 M lbs
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,270 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.084 %
|
3,813 M lbs
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,270 M tons
|
Silver
|
2.5 g/t
|
165 M oz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,270 M tons
|
Rhenium
|
0.021 ppm
|
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,270 M tons
|
Sulphur
|
0.264 %
|
|
Inferred
|
2,557 M tons
|
Molybdenum
|
0.048 %
|
1,471 M lbs
|
Inferred
|
2,557 M tons
|
Copper
|
0.067 %
|
3,426 M lbs
|
Inferred
|
2,557 M tons
|
Silver
|
2.13 g/t
|
158.8 M oz
|
Inferred
|
2,557 M tons
|
Rhenium
|
0.017 ppm
|
|
Inferred
|
2,557 M tons
|
Sulphur
|
0.282 %
|
|
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
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