At today's copper and molybdenum prices the Dec. 2009 Preliminary Assessment (PA) values the Copaquire project at: $239.3 million *.

The PA suggests resources at Copaquire will be mined by open-pit. AMEC has developed an ultimate pit and selected a scoping level production plan to process 36,000 tonnes of mill feed per day. The PA suggests a mine capable of producing approximately 785.4 million lbs of copper and 166.4 million lbs of molybdenum over a 24-year mine life at an operating cost of $7.15 US$/t)

*Jan 13, 2010
Moly price $15.50/lb: Infomine.com; Copper price $3.40/lb: Kitco.com
For the 2009 Preliminary Assessment Report - Click here (2.1Mb)

With a strong NPV at todays copper and molybdenum prices the PA's economic model shows that even more significant value can be unlocked by a slight increase in copper grades in the first years of the projects estimated 24 year mine life. In this regard the Company is preparing an infill drill program to target the adjacent Sulfato South copper rich zone and add even more value to the Copaquire copper-molybdenum-rhenium project

Geological, geophysical and previous drill data indicate the presence of a copper supergene enriched zone in the porphyry system at the adjacent Sulfato South Zone. This enriched blanket-like zone contains higher copper grades than the Cerro Moly zone which is molybdenum rich. Grades from previous drilling in this Sulfato zone ranged from 0.50% to 1.40% copper, with a thickness range between 10 to 40 meters approximately.

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