The latest copper exploration results from the Unkur Copper-Silver Project in East Russia point to the possibility of recovering up to 92pc copper in sulfide material.
Canada’s Azarga Metals Corp, which owns the mine, said in a statement that further tests revealed the copper ore mined from this project could be refined to produce a 30pc copper concentrate. The grade is a much sought-after product in copper, according to Michael Hopely, president, and chief executive officer of Azarga.
Apart from the sulfides, the mine is likely to recover around 96.4pc of oxidized copper, the company noted. These results are in line with the output expected from the mine and are above the company’s 2017-18 inferred resource estimate of 62mn mt of total resources at 0.53pc copper and 38.6g/t silver.
The Unkur Copper-Silver project is in the Zabaikalsky administrative region in eastern Russia.