West Perth-based Marengo Mining Ltd expects to commence production at its Yandera copper molybdenum mine in Papua New Guinea in the first quarter of 2011, the company has announced.
The full text of a company announcement is pasted below
The US$942 million Yandera copper molybdenum mine in Papua New Guinea should commence first production by the first quarter of 2011, project owner, Marengo Mining Ltd, announced today.
Outlining the mine's construction and commissioning timeframe today at the second day in Perth today of the 2007 Paydirt Asia Pacific DownUnder Conference, Marengo's Managing Director, Mr Les Emery, said the bankable feasibility study for Yandera had now commenced and together with permitting, should be completed by mid 2009.
"Yandera is shaping up as a very robust mining project with strong economic fundamentals based on a copper price of US$1.50 per pound and a molybdenum price of US$15 a pound," Mr Emery said.
"Payback on this basis will be around five and a half years but we expect Yandera to have a life nearer 30 years."
The recently completed conceptual mining study for Yandera proposed a two stage open pit containing 406 million tonnes to underpin an initial 10 year mine life at a starting rate of 25 million tonnes per annum (tpa) in the first two years, increasing to 40 mtpa.
Mr Ellery said this ramp up was estimated to cost an additional US$198 million.
The study found Yandera would produce 88,000 tpa of contained copper metal, rising to 124,000 tpa as well as 4,200 tonnes of contained molybdenum, rising to 6,700 tpa.
Yandera is located just east of Mount Hagen in Papua New Guinea's Highlands. It contains 5 billion pounds of copper and 200 million pounds of molybdenum.
