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Australia

Jaguar Operation

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Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusCare and Maintenance
Commodities
  • Copper
  • Zinc
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Longhole open stoping
  • Avoca
  • Longhole stoping
Backfill type ... Lock
Production Start... Lock
SnapshotJaguar Operations is an established underground zinc, copper, gold and silver mining operation. Operations include an underground mine at the Bentley deposit utilising open stoping methods and a processing plant producing copper and zinc concentrates with precious metals by-products. Concentrates are trucked to the Geraldton for export to customers internationally.

On 2 August 2023, Aeris announced that it would be placing the Jaguar Zinc/Copper Operations (Jaguar) on care and maintenance in September 2023, due to forecast operating losses in FY2024. The Company will immediately commence feasibility work on restart options for the operation, incorporating other known resources on the tenements.
Related Asset

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Aeris Resources Ltd. 100 % Indirect
Round Oak Minerals Pty Ltd. (operator) 100 % Direct
The Jaguar Operations were acquired by Aeris Resources in July 2022 through the acquisition of Round Oak Minerals Limited.

Deposit type

  • VMS

Summary:

Jaguar Operations includes four deposits including Teutonic Bore, Jaguar, Bentley and Triumph.

The Jaguar Operation mineralised deposits are classified as Volcanic Hosted Massive Sulphide (VHMS) type deposits. The deposits contain economic concentrations of copper and zinc, with gold and silver both important by-products. At the Jaguar Operation there are four Mineral Resource deposits including Teutonic Bore, Jaguar, Bentley and Triumph. Current mining activities are focused at the Bentley deposit.

Jaguar Operation is centred on a cluster of Volcanic Hosted Massive Sulphides (VHMS) deposits that are located within the Gindalbie Terrane, which is part of the late Archaean Eastern Goldfields Superterrane of the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia. The area is dominated by rocks of volcanic, intrusive, volcanosedimentary origin and lesser sedimentary rocks. The local sequences have undergone tilting to sub-vertical positions and regional metamorphism to a lower greenschist facies. The principal deposits forming the known VHMS cluster are Bentley, Jaguar, Teutonic Bore and the Triumph deposit. The Jaguar Operation deposits are interpreted to have formed by subseafloor replacement, principally of shales and volcanoclastic sediments, with mineralisation located in a similar stratigraphic position near a transition from calc-alkaline to tholeiitic volcanism. The Teutonic Bore deposit originally cropped out as a gossan and is characterised by a massive sulphide lens (pyrite-sphaleritechalcopyrite) with an extensive footwall feed zone of stringer sulphides. The mineralisation dips steeply west and plunges shallowly to the north. The Bentley VHMS mineralisation occurs at the contact of a thick basal rhyolitic sequence with an overlying andesite. The rhyolitic sequence is overlain by a sequence of carbonaceous mudstones and siltstones. The sequence is steeply dipping. The Bentley massive sulphide mineralisation is banded and consists of pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and minor pyrrhotite. The upper contact of the massive sulphide is typically sharp. The footwall to the massive sulphide zone consists typically of stringer and disseminated sulphide mineralisation comprising pyrite, chalcopyrite, and minor sphalerite. A dolerite sill has intruded the Bentley region, cutting the mineralisation into nine main lenses (Arnage, Mulsanne, Bentayga, Brooklands, Comet, Flying Spur, Pegasus, Turbo and Zagato). The Bentayga lens has been structurally offset from the main Arnage lens, pushed 80m into the footwall from the rest of the Bentley mineralisation.

Dimensions Bentley
Bentley has nine main mineralised lenses of known dimensions as follows:
- Arnage Lens has a ~400m strike length, a down plunge length (to the south) of ~900m and maximum thickness of ~30m. The top of Arnage is ~160m below natural surface and the known vertical extent is ~1000m below surface.
- Mulsanne Lens has a ~300m strike length, a vertical extent of 180m and maximum thickness of ~3m.
- Brooklands Lens has a ~100m strike length, a vertical extent of 180m and average thickness of ~2m.
- Flying Spur Lens has been split into five smaller lenses, and has a total strike length of ~370m, a vertical extent of ~300m and average thickness of ~2m and occurs adjacent to the Arnage lens at 1000m below surface.
- Bentayga Lens has a ~150m strike length, a vertical extent of 260m and average thickness of ~7m.
- Pegasus Lens is split into two smaller lenses and has a ~200m strike length, a down plunge length (to the south) of ~320m and maximum thickness of ~5m.
- Comet Lens has a ~200m strike length, a vertical extent of ~180m and average thickness of ~4m.
- Turbo Lens has a ~300m strike length, a down plunge length (to the south) of ~200m and maximum thickness of ~25m.
- Zagato Lens is split into two smaller lenses has a ~100m strike length, a vertical extent of ~80m and average thickness of ~3m.

Dimensions Triumph
Triumph consists of four massive sulfide lenses each with a corresponding basal stringer sulfide and upper disseminated sulfide domains. The basal stringer and upper disseminated domains are incremental to the massive sulfide domains. Multiple footwall stringer domains have been identified and modelled.

Stag massive sulfide lens is the largest of the massive sulfide lenses and has a strike length of 350m (north-south) with a shallow, southerly down plunge extent of 400m and a maximum thickness of 40m. Stag lens sits 170m below the surface and extends 400m vertically.

Rocket massive sulfide lens has a strike length and down plunge extent of 230m and a maximum thickness of 6m. Rocket lens sits 355m below surface and has a vertical extent of 250m.

Spitfire massive sulfide lens has a strike length of 90m, shallow down plunge extent of 100m and a maximum thickness of 6m. Spitfire lens sits 730m below surface and has a vertical extent of 90m.

A forth small massive sulfide lens has been identified as the Tiger Lens which sits above the Rocket lens and has the dimension of 90m in height and 30m in strike length and a maximum width of 5m. Tiger lens is 300m below surface.

Dimensions Teutonic Bore
Teutonic Bore has three mineralised lenses of known dimensions as follows:
- Main Lode Lens has a ~300m strike length, a down plunge length (to the west) of ~200m and maximum thickness of ~20m.
- Footwall Stringer Lens has a ~350m strike length, a vertical extent of ~280m and maximum thickness of ~50m.
- Footwall Lode Lens has a 45m strike length, a vertical extent of ~85m and average thickness of ~8m.

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

12 months to 30 June 2022 (previous Owner had a reporting period to 31 July).
CommodityProductUnits202320222021201820172016
Copper Metal in concentrate t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1,6954,5657,412
Zinc Metal in concentrate t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe26,15932,63839,335
Gold Metal in concentrate oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1,2262,5324,880
Silver Metal in concentrate oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1,067,4001,376,5211,603,565
Copper Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe
Zinc Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe
Zinc Payable metal t 21,74727,067
Gold Payable metal oz 1,1362,328
Silver Payable metal oz 736,249951,182

Operational metrics

Metrics202320222021201820172016
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe414,582 t444,700 t497,751 t
Tonnes processed  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe411,219 t443,485 t505,578 t

Production Costs

CommodityUnits202320182017
Cash costs Zinc AUD 1.25 / lb **   0.76 / lb **  
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Zinc AUD  ....  Subscribe
All-in costs Zinc AUD  ....  Subscribe
** Net of By-Product.

Financials

Units202320182017
Growth Capital M AUD  ....  Subscribe
Sustaining costs M AUD  ....  Subscribe
Revenue M AUD  ....  Subscribe 112.1   137.5  
Pre-tax Income M AUD 12.9   33.5  
EBITDA M AUD  ....  Subscribe

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Fleet data has not been reported.

Personnel

Mine Management

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....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 27, 2023
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Aerial view:

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