Coro Places SCM Berta Operation on Care and Maintenance

Coro Mining (TSX:COP) has announced that its strategy to focus on its large Marimaca exploration project has taken another step forward following a decision by its owners to place the smaller SCM Berta operation in Chile on care and maintenance.

In a Tuesday (October 16) release the company said that the April 2018 strategic review recognized that the Marimaca project presents the greatest opportunity to create value, and therefore it committed to reducing its interest in SCM Berta. In line with this strategy, the company and Greenstone Resources have decided to place SCM Berta on care and maintenance. This decision will preserve ore resources and minimize costs while a new long-term strategic alternative for the operation can be determined. Options under consideration include selling the operation as a whole or part to a third-party, consolidation with other local copper producers and developers, or restarting a reconfigured operation at higher copper prices.

President and CEO of Coro, Luis Tondo said:

“Our confidence in Marimaca continues to grow and we believe that it has the potential to become one of the most significant recently discovered open pittable copper oxide resources in Chile. As this view strengthens, Marimaca clearly must be the focus of the business as we aim to generate wealth for our shareholders. As a smaller, high-cost and somewhat complex operation, we determined that SCM Berta was not economical at current copper prices. Consequently, we have decided to ramp-down operations and place it on care and maintenance. This pause will allow us the time needed to find a longer term solution for the SCM Berta and focus our time and efforts on Marimaca.”

Click here to read the full Coro Mining (TSX:COP) press release.