American CuMo Mining: How Ore-sorting Technology Can Cut Costs

Located in Idaho, American CuMo Mining‘s (TSXV:MLY) CuMo project is impressive. It’s the largest unmined moly project in the world, but also contains significant copper and silver credits — in fact, it holds so much silver that it’s one of the 25 top silver deposits in the world.
At the moment, American CuMo is moving forward to feasibility at CuMo. Its most recent step toward that goal came last week, when it announced that CuMo is amenable to “significant upgrading” using ore-sorting technology. To find out what exactly ore-sorting technology is, and how it could benefit American CuMo, the Investing News Network spoke with Shaun Dykes, the company’s president and CEO.
Essentially, said Dykes, “ore sorting is a method of separating the material that contains the metal from the waste rock.” The easiest way to understand the concept is to imagine a block of material that’s been mined, he said, adding, “at CuMo, within that block we have narrow veins that occupy about 10 percent of that volume. That material contains all the metal.” With ore sorting, the rock that contains the metal is separated out from the waste by machines, allowing for lower tonnages to be processed even as large tonnages are mined.

The effect, of course, is lower costs. “The benefits are huge, it’s a game changer for us,” Dykes emphasized. That’s especially important in today’s environment of low moly prices. Moly is currently sitting at about $5.40 per pound, and according to Dykes, “that’s below probably about 50, 55 percent of world production” — for instance, China produces moly at a cost of $12.
All in all, it certainly seems as though using ore-sorting technology will be beneficial for American CuMo. Check out the video above for more insight from Dykes, and be sure to watch for more milestones as American CuMo works on releasing the feasibility study for CuMo.
 
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article. 
Editorial Disclosure: American CuMo Mining is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.