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(Alliance News) - Castillo Copper Ltd on Thursday said it has received a preliminary pit optimisation study on the Big One deposit, at its NWQ project, showing a net present value of AUD28 million, around GBP14.7 million.
The base metals explorer focused on copper across Australia and Zambia said the drilling programme, which was focused on the near-surface element of known mineralisation at the deposit, indicates that a stand-alone mining operation could be developed at the site.
The firm said the study shows that an optimised pit shell could deliver as much as 6,266 tonnes of copper with a head grade of 1.4%, 4,363 tonnes of silver at 0.31 grammes per tonne and 1,469 tonnes of cobalt at 0.3%.
The firm said there is potential to build on the findings and advance towards obtaining a mining license once a development partner has been attained.
The company noted that there are more than 20 copper, gold, lead and zinc prospects across the NWQ project which are prospective for copper mineralisation.
Chair Ged Hall: "The board is delighted with the findings from Entech's preliminary pit optimisation study, as it provides significant confidence a standalone mining operation can potentially be developed at Big One deposit. More importantly, the board believes the study's insights will be key to securing a strategic partner to progress critical development work moving forward."
Castillo shares rose 13% to 0.48 pence each on Thursday afternoon in London.
By Harvey Dorset, Alliance News reporter
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