Nevada Copper’s production rate is anticipated to rise after the mine completes its development of a water dike and further lateral development in Q3, Q4 2021.
The company expects its hoisting rate to reach 3,000t (2,721mt) per day in Q4 2021 before ramping it up further to 5,000t per day in H1 2022. However, the latter is a delayed ramp-up owing to stoppages during the first quarter. The miner had initially planned the increase for the fourth quarter of the year.
Mike Brown, the interim chief executive officer of Nevada Copper, said in a statement that the company has already completed the first crossing of its water dike, which increased the exploration output from its second stope to a copper grade of 1.45pc in Q2 2021. Moreover, the delivery of surface fans along with their installation and commissioning remains on track to be completed by Q4 2021.
The company processed 87,211t (79,116mt) of copper through its process plant in Q2 2021, averaging a throughput of 3,271 tons per day. During the quarter, the miner processed 21pc of copper concentrate on average after recovering 81pc copper through the total ore mined.
The US-based miner is also raising its cash flow through an additional $13mn in loans from Pala Investments, its largest shareholder.