- Rex Minerals (RXM) substantially increases the ore reserves for its Hillside Copper-Gold Project in South Australia
- Hillside’s ore reserves total 181.6 million tonnes at 0.54 per cent copper and 0.14g/t gold for 988,000 tonnes of copper metal and 823,000 ounces of gold
- Significantly for the company, the copper metal portion marks a 94 per cent increase on the previous ore reserve estimate which was completed in 2015
- Rex Minerals is focused on advancing this undeveloped, but valuable, asset into the production phase to support the rising global demand for copper
- Company shares are trading steady at 37 cents at market close.
Rex Minerals (RXM) has more than doubled the ore reserves for its wholly owned Hillside Copper-Gold Project in South Australia.
The project’s ore reserves now total 181.6 million tonnes at 0.54 per cent copper and 0.14 grams of gold per tonne (g/t) for 988,000 tonnes of copper metal and 823,000 ounces of gold.
Of this, 58 million tonnes are in the proven category and the remaining 123 million tonnes are in the probable category.
Positively, the updated ore reserves mark a significant increase from the previous ore reserves announced in May 2015.
Notably, the tonnage portion of the ore reserve estimate has increased by 122 per cent and the contained copper and gold portion grew by 94 and 90 per cent, respectively.
Managing Director Richard Laufmann, commented on today’s update.
“Hillside is one of Australia’s largest undeveloped copper projects. To date, we’ve only converted half of the existing two million tonnes of mineral resources to ore reserves,” Mr Laufmann said.
“The pre-feasibility study (PFS) to transition from stage one to stage two is a winner for Rex stakeholders, for South Australia and for the emergence of a new and exciting, fully permitted near-term Australian copper producer.”
The Hillside Project is a technically robust and financially viable asset that Rex is developing into the production phase to support the surging demand for copper.
The updated ore reserves are based on the stage two PFS transition plan which is expected to come into effect in year six of production and continue until year 27 of an updated open pit mine schedule for the Hillside Project.
At the completion of mining in year 27, the company will process lower-grade stockpiled materials for six years which takes the total life of the operation to 33 years which is much higher than the 13-year mine life initially outlined.
Company shares were trading steady at 37 cents at market close.