Sierra Metals has updated its preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Bolivar copper-silver mine to include the production of saleable iron ore concentrate.
Luis Marchese, chief executive officer of Sierra metals commented on Aug 16 that the new PEA now includes an increased potential for sales of magnetite (iron ore) as a by-product from the company’s Mexican mine.
The PEA includes accelerating staged increases to a production rate of 10,000mt of ore per day in 2024 from the current capacity of 5,000mt per day. Sierra Metals also increased the net present value of Bolivar by 8pc to $78.2mn from $57.4 mn and the internal rate of return to 69pc from the 27.9pc reported in its previous PEA. Indicated copper resources from this mine are estimated at 149,111mt while iron ore is estimated at 2.67mn mt.
Located in the Piedras Verdes District of Chihuahua State, Mexico, Bolivar consists of 14 mineral concessions (6,800 hectares).