Our new mine, which is scheduled to begin its operational life in 2018, is set to feature three production levels, a 3.8 km primary access tunnel, four fresh air injection ramps, and two separate air-extraction shafts. By the estimated end of this mine’s production in 2052, the shafts will have been further deepened by up to 500m. The total estimated cost of this mine over its lifetime will be around $1.2 billion and is expected to produce around 35’000 tons of ore per day. Resultant product from this mine is forecast to be 56,000t of copper and 4,000t of molybdenum per annum. The mines copper ore reserves are estimated to be 732 million metric tons with a grading of 0.6% copper and featuring an average molybdenum content equivalent to 460ppm.
This proposed new mine lies on Chile’s Chuqui porphyry complex, with the deposit lying on a north by north west bearing, hosting an elongated, intrusive complex measuring some 9km by 1.1km. The initial and conceptual engineering of this new underground mine was started in 2011 and was completed in August of 2013. The Chilean government is expected to grant environmental authorization for this proposed mine by the third quarter of 2016.
Following on from the passage of what is now known as the Codelco Law in April of 1992, the giant state run minerals producer Codelco was authorized for the first time to form joint venture partnerships with companies in the private sector to seek out and develop unexploited deposits in Chile. By as early as 1995, Codelco had contracted with national and foreign owned mining companies to conduct four joint explorations in the north of the country. This positive change in legislation and business outlook, helped to see foreign owned multinational mining companies become increasingly more prominent in Chile as new investment projects began to be implemented. This is the environment in which CasCan Mining began to seek out partnerships with these larger concerns to develop a number of sites throughout the country.
CasCan Mining has been involved in a number of successful ventures working with numerous mining operators throughout the region. We are also continually seeking opportunities to expand our operations, through partnership and acquisition of mining assets in the region.
We are justifiably proud of having being able to deliver quality services to the mining industry on time and always on budget, something that has earned us a reputation that is second to none for any company our size in this industry. Now as we grow beyond even our own visions regarding what we as a company could become, we are looking to see the same performance as a mid-sized entity in this industry. Our goal is to be a company offering outstanding value to partners and shareholders alike as venture into a very bright future, providing in demand commodities to an ever expanding customer base.