Sandfire upgrades Degrussa reserve

West Perth-based Sandfire Resources has upgraded its mineral resource at the Degrussa copper mine, located 900 kilometres north-east of Perth, following a recent drilling program.

The company announced today that the upgrade had resulted in the addition of approximately 1.3 million tonnes with a grading of 3.5 per cent for 46,000 tonnes of contained copper to the ore reserve.

The updated reserve has also extended the mine life out to early 2022, rather than the previously forecast 2021.

Managing director Karl Simich said the updated mine plan reflected the extensive drilling program completed over the past six to 12 months.

“This work has been undertaken with the aid of improved technical understanding and increased drilling within many of these areas and against the backdrop of continued strength and the strong outlook for the copper market,” he said.

“The conversion of a material component of our broader mineral resource inventory to ore reserves means that our overall mine plan underpins a mine life which now extends into 2022.

“That is a great result which puts us in a very strong position to continue to take full advantage of the current and anticipated strength in the copper market.”

Shares in Sandfire finished down 2.4 per cent at $8.16 each