The copper deposits of the Capricorn Copper Mine (CCM) are situated within the Western Fold Belt of the Mount Isa Inlier.

This belt hosts the world class Cu/Pb-Zn Mount Isa Mine, and a range of other hydrothermal copper deposits including Capricorn Copper Mine, Mount Oxide, Lady Annie and Mount Kelly.

The Mount Isa Cu deposit (255 Mt @ 3.3% Cu) and the Capricorn Copper Mine (36.8 Mt @ 2.5% Cu) are the two most significant sediment-hosted copper deposits in the Western Fold Belt. The deposits are
hosted in deformed Proterozoic sediments that range in age from 1740 to 1652 Ma.

The CCM project includes five deposits: Mammoth (MAM), Mammoth North (MAM_N), Esperanza-Pluto (ESP), Esperanza South (ESS) and Greenstone (GST).

Mammoth & Mammoth North
- Hosted by the Proterozoic Whitworth Quartzite of the Myally Subgroup and the Unconformity contact with the overlying Surprise Creek Formation
- Mineralisation hosted in breccia at the intersection of the E-W trending Mammoth Fault and the N- S trending Portal Fault.

Esperanza-Pluto
- Esperanza hosted in shales of the Esperanza Formation at the structural confluence between the E- W trending Mammoth Fault and the Mammoth Extended Fault, which are splays to the N-S trending Esperanza Fault.
- The Pluto prospect is bounded to the West and North by the Mammoth Extended Fault and abuts the formerly mined Esperanza Pit to the South.

Esperanza South
- Located on the footwall of the West-dipping Esperanza Fault that juxtaposes Eastern Creek Volcanics against Esperanza Sediments
- Mineralisation comprises chalcocite in veins with significant Ag by-products

Greenstone
- Mineralisation exists in fault bounded discrete breccia zones of stockwork sulphide veins centred about the ENE-trending, Steeply south-dipping Mammoth Extended Fault within the Surprise Creek Formation and Whitworth Quartzite.

The Capricorn Copper deposits (MAM, MAM_N, ESP, ESS and GST) are each at different stages of definition, development or mining. Copper mineralisation is related to a set of interconnected east to northeast-trending faults and fault splays associated with the regional scale, north-trending MGFZ. Mineralisation occurs as stockwork veins, breccias and as adjacent replacement of host rocks within and close to the faults.

Capricorn Copper Mine (CCM) has seven primary ore bodies contained within a 1.5km radius, with mining to occur from multiple ore bodies through two declines. The mining methods and extraction sequencing have been selected based on a detailed trade off study including economic analysis of individual ore bodies considering the suitability of the mining method, access of equipment and geological and geotechnical settings. From this study, Longitudinal Sub Level Caving (LSLC) was selected as the most appropriate method for Esperanza South (ESS). All other orebodies will be mined using Long Hole Open Stoping (LHOS) with paste fill.

The existing MAM portal provides access to Mammoth Deeps, Greenstone, Mammoth North, East and Pluto deposits. The Esperanza South underground mine is located to the southwest of the existing Mammoth workings. The orebodies are separated by approximately 1km (with the portals approximately 1.9km apart). The Esperanza South orebody has its own independent decline and supporting mine infrastructure.

The Crushing and Milling flow sheet consists of:
- single toggle jaw crusher, feeding a Coarse Ore Stockpile (COS);
- comminution circuit comprised of a closed SAG and Ball Mill paired with a hydrocyclone cluster.

Capricorn Copper Mine is targeting production of approximately 30ktpa of copper in copper concentrate. The grade of the copper concentrate is expected to be approximately 30% and will be transported to the Port of Townsville in sealed half height containers for international sale. To achieve this, CCM has developed strong geological and resource models that have supported the development of production plans with increased confidence and capacity to mine and process copper ore compared to previous operational periods at the mine.

The existing processing infrastructure at Capricorn Copper Mine is a collection of historical upgrades and modifications to the original process flow design, and reflects the different technologies employed to recover copper over decades of operation. The current process flow design is a conventional copper sulphide flotation concentrator and current works include a combination of refurbishment of existing equipment and some minor modifications to i ........