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April 28, 2024
Lanthanein Resources Limited (ASX: LNR) (“Lanthanein” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the gold and base metal results from the recent tenement wide soil sampling programme at the Lady Grey Lithium Project (“Lady Grey”) directly adjacent to Covalent Lithium’s (SQM & Wesfarmers) Earl Grey Mine, 189Mt @1.53% Li2O¹ at Mount Holland in the Forrestania Greenstone Belt. The programme collected 1,893 samples and has identified multiple coincident gold, copper and nickel anomalies (Figure 1, 2 and 3).
- New Gold, Copper and Nickel soil anomalies identified in the recently completed soil sampling programme
- >2km long gold anomaly coincident with structural flexure
- Peak result of 256ppb Au, with a total of 87 samples returning ≥25ppb Au
- Historic Bounty Gold Mine which produced ~1.3moz Au on Covalent Lithium’s (SQM & Wesfarmers, 50/50) Earl Grey Mine, 189Mt @1.53% Li2O¹ Mount Holland mine site located adjacent to Lady Grey Project
- Peak result of 170ppm Cu, with a total of 300 samples returning ≥50ppm Cu
- Peak result of 263ppm Ni, with a total of 464 samples returning ≥100ppm Ni
- Strong spatial correlation between Gold, Copper, Nickel and Sulphur anomalism
- Exploration work programmes targeting drilling mid year
Mr Brian Thomas, Technical Director of Lanthanein commented: “We are greatly encouraged by the identification of multiple new gold, copper and nickel anomalies picked up by the recent tenement wide soil sampling programme which adds another dimension to the project wide prospectivity following the recent discovery of two large Lithium anomalies, Godzilla and Avenger. The Forrestania region is well known historically for its significant gold production with the old Bounty Mine producing ~1.3moz Au, plus the region has proven nickel endowment with the IGO’s, Forrestania Operations ~30km to the south. We will now accelerate our work programmes and approvals processes to be drilling these targets by mid-year.”
Figure 1: New Gold Anomalies at the Lady Grey Lithium Project.
Figure 2: New Copper Anomalies at the Lady Grey Lithium Project.
Figure 3: New Nickel Anomalies at the Lady Grey Lithium Project.
Figure 4: New Sulphur Anomalies at the Lady Grey Lithium Project.
UltraFine+TM Soil Sampling Programme
The survey was completed on a minimum spacing of 400m x 100m, with a total of 1,893 soil samples collected.
Figures 1 through 4 show the soil anomalies delineated from the sampling results. The five gold soil anomalies in Figure 1, represent areas with >50ppb Au – considered highly anomalous using this soil sampling technique. The largest gold anomaly is extends over 2km of strike and is located in a highly favourable structural setting. The copper and nickel anomalies are spatially adjacent to each other along with the high sulphur with a peak value of 5.33% and 50 samples >0.05% which would indicate the presence of weathered sulphides. Exploration reconnaissance and further geochemical sampling is planned to investigate the potential for magmatic sulphides and the presence of gossanous outcrop or subcrop.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Lanthanein Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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7h
Copper Mines in Australia
Home to the world’s second largest copper reserves and the eighth largest copper producer globally in 2024, Australia holds dozens of operating copper mines.
Data from Geoscience Australia's Identified Mineral Resources 2023 report shows there were 36 operational copper mines spread across the country as of December 2022. Since then more have come online, and there are plenty more copper projects in the exploration and development stages.
The future for copper production in Australia remains bright thanks to higher price projections and large investments in exploration and development. The Australian government forecasts that copper export earnings will reach AU$15.3 billion in the 2024/2025 period and AU$16.2 billion in the 2025/2026 period.
Read on to learn more about Australia's biggest copper mines as well as near-term producing copper projects.
In this article
Where is copper mined in Australia?
Copper is mined in many of Australia's states. South Australia is the nation’s premier copper jurisdiction with three operating copper mines and 68 percent of Australia’s economic demonstrated resources of copper. The state is home to the largest single copper mine in the country: the Olympic Dam polymetallic mine, owned by BHP (ASX:BHP,LSE:BHP,NYSE:BHP).
While South Australia has the most copper reserves and three of the country's biggest copper mines, the state with the most copper mines is Queensland. It boasted 12 operating producers as of 2022, including Australia's second largest copper producer, Glencore’s (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF) Mount Isa Mines complex. In terms of Australia’s copper economic demonstrated resources, Queensland accounts for 11 percent.
New South Wales holds 12 percent of the country’s copper economic demonstrated resources and eight operating copper mines. These include Newmont’s (TSX:NGT,NYSE:NEM) Cadia mine, another of the biggest copper producers in Australia; and Aeris Resources’ (ASX:AIS,OTC Pink:ARSRF) Tritton mine, one of the longest-life mines in the state.
There are 11 copper mines in Western Australia, and the state accounts for 8 percent of the nation’s total copper economic demonstrated resources. The Paterson Province in this region has attracted a lot of attention for large-scale copper discoveries, such as the Telfer mine, which is now wholly owned by Greatland Gold (LSE:GGP,OTC Pink:GRLGF).
This is just a snapshot of some of the country's major copper mines — there are many others that sit on smaller reserves, primarily in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. There are also two copper mines in Tasmania. While they don't have operating mines, Victoria and the Northern Territory are both home to developing copper projects.
Five largest copper mines in Australia
Investors interested in gaining exposure to the opportunities in Australia's copper mining sector should learn about the country's five largest copper mines by production.
The copper mines on this list are owned and operated by publicly traded companies, and mine information and data is sourced from Mining Data Online (MDO). The copper mines in this list are arranged in alphabetical order. BHP, which owns three of the mines on this list, reports production using a fiscal year (FY) ending June 30.
1. Cadia Mine
State: New South Wales
Life of mine: 2057
2024 production: 87,000 tonnes metal in concentrate
The Cadia mine, wholly owned by Newmont through its subsidiary Cadia Holdings, includes the operating Cadia East mine and the Ridgeway mine, currently on care and maintenance. In addition to being a significant copper producer, Cadia is also one Australia's largest gold mining operations.
Launched in January 2013, the large underground Cadia East mine is now undergoing significant expansion activities to extend its mine life. The expansion is focused on a now complete two-stage plant expansion and two panel caves, PC1-2 and PC2-3, which will operate until 2034 and 2042 respectively. Over their operating life, the panel caves are expected to combine for production of about 1.3 million tonnes of copper reserves and 5.9 million ounces of gold reserves.
2. Carrapateena Mine
State: South Australia
Life of mine: 2055
FY2024 production: 194,700 tonnes copper concentrate
The Carrapateena Mine, owned by BHP Group, is an iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) style deposit much like its district neighbours, Prominent Hill and Olympic Dam. This is one of the newest mines on this list, with construction completed in 2019. It became a a part of BHP's copper production portfolio following the major miner's acquisition of OZ Minerals in May 2023. Today, Carrapateena has a production rate of approximately of 4.25 million tonnes per annum.
Carrapateena's copper production for FY2024 increased by nearly 130 percent over 2023's output. "The successful commissioning and ramp up of Crusher 2 in Q3 FY2024 led to record material mined and concentrate produced," MDO states.
3. Mount Isa
State: Queensland
Life of mine: 2025
2024 production: 67,400 tonnes copper metal
The Mount Isa copper mine, owned by Glencore, has long been a key producer of the metal. With production at Mount Isa beginning back in 1943, the country's second largest copper producer has become long in the tooth.
Glencore announced in October 2023 that its underground copper operations and copper concentrator will close in H2 2025 due to economic infeasibility resulting from low ore grades, geological challenges and aging infrastructure. Its other assets in the area will continue operations, including the Mount Isa copper smelter; the George Fisher mine, zinc-lead concentrator and lead smelter; and a copper refinery in Townsville.
4. Olympic Dam
State: South Australia
Life of mine: 2081
FY2024 production: 215,700 tonnes of copper cathode
Launched in 1988, the Olympic Dam is the largest copper producing mine in Australia, and the crown jewel in BHP's asset portfolio. The mine is also a globally important source of gold, silver and uranium. Operations at Olympic Dam consist of underground mining and surface operations as well as a fully integrated processing facility with a hydrometallurgical plant incorporating solvent extraction circuits for copper, a copper smelter and a copper refinery.
In an effort to increase copper production to meet forecasted growth in demand, BHP is looking to expand its copper smelter and refinery facilities in the first half of 2027. In January 2025, BHP awarded an an engineering, procurement and construction management contract for the proposed expansion.
5. Prominent Hill
State: South Australia
Life of mine: 2038
FY2024 production: 98,100 tonnes copper concentrate
Prominent Hill is another important Australian copper mine controlled by BHP that, like Carrapateena, became part of BHP's portfolio through its 2023 OZ Minerals acquisition. Commercial production began at the mine in 2009, and today it produces some of the highest grades of copper concentrate in the world.
Copper production at Prominent Hill nearly doubled in BHP's FY2024 compared to 50,000 tonnes of copper concentrate in FY2023. This is due to a substantial expansion at the Wira Shaft that began in 2022 and is slated to be fully operational by the end of 2025, according to MDO.
Where will Australia's next copper mines be?
Outside of the ongoing expansions at the nation's operating mines, copper exploration and project development is happening across Australia. These are a few advanced copper projects in permitting or under construction held by publicly-traded mining companies.
Caravel project
The Caravel copper project, owned by Caravel Minerals (ASX:CVV), is a permitting-stage copper porphyry project located in Western Australia. The project has a total mineral resource of 3.03 million tonnes of contained copper from 1.28 million tonnes of ore. Caravel Minerals' website says the project is "Australia’s largest undeveloped copper deposit and the fourth-largest copper discovery worldwide in the last decade." A feasibility study is expected to be completed in Q2 2025 and permitting is underway.
Elizabeth Creek project
The Elizabeth Creek project is owned by Coda Minerals (ASX:COD) and located in the Olympic Copper Province of South Australia. The company completed an updated scoping study on the project in December 2024 demonstrating robust economics. The proposed operations at Elizabeth Creek includes three open-pit mines, one underground mine and a hydrometallurgical processing plant. For Phase 1, Coda plans to produce copper-cobalt concentrate in the first year to drive cash-flow. In Phase 2, the completed hydrometallurgical plant will produce higher value saleable end-products such as copper cathode, battery-grade cobalt sulphate, zinc carbonate and silver doré.
Eva Copper project
The Eva Copper project in Queensland is owned by South Africa's Harmony Gold Mining Company (NYSE:HAR). The project hosts the Little Eva and Blackard deposits, planned as open pit operations, as well as four smaller satellite pits. Eva is fully permitted and nearing completion of a feasibility study, which will help inform a final investment decision by January 2026. It is currently expected to produce 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes of copper annually. In mid-2024, the state granted Harmony AU$20.7 million for Eva under the Mount Isa Mining Acceleration Programme.
Havieron project
The Havieron project is an underground copper-gold development-stage asset owned and discovered by Greatland Gold and located in the Paterson region of Western Australia. Previously a partial owner, the company re-acquired the full rights to the project along with the Telfer mine from Newmont on December 4, 2024. Greatland Gold plans to process ore from Havieron at the nearby Telfer mining facility.
Whim Creek project
Whim Creek is a fully permitted copper-zinc project in Western Australia's Pilbara region with four deposits, two of which are proposed as open-pit mines and two as underground mines. The project is owned by Anax Minerals (ASX:ANX) and Develop Global through an 80/20 joint venture. Anax is promoting Whim Creek as a potential processing hub with a concentrator and heap leach combining for capacity of 20,000 tonnes of copper equivalent per year. The company is also testing its bioleaching technology with copper extraction results of 77 to 80 percent.
FAQs for copper mines in Australia
Is Australia rich in copper?
Australia is the eighth top copper-producing country, and there are many ASX-listed copper companies mining for the metal both in and outside of the country. There are actively producing copper-focused mines in five Australian jurisdictions — Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania — while exploration and development is being carried out in a fifth jurisdiction, Victoria. There are known deposits across every jurisdiction, however.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2021.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, currently hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: Anax Metals is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
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23h
New Ground Acquisition at Broken Hill
Impact Minerals Limited (ASX:IPT) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a large, 675 sq km landholding adjacent to its current land position surrounding one of the world’s greatest mines containing over 350 million tonnes of massive sulphide mineralisation, the Broken Hill silver-lead-zinc deposit in New South Wales.
- Impact to acquire a large tenement package from New Frontier Minerals Limited (ASX:NFM) adjoining its existing ground holding that almost completely surrounds the giant Broken Hill lead-zinc-silver mine in New South Wales.
- Impact’s ground now extends over 1,770 sq km and covers an area considered extremely prospective for large copper deposits following a novel exploration model that formed the basis of the company’s participation in the inaugural BHP Xplor program in 2023.
- Detailed mapping and sampling of 99 gabbro sills and other work completed during the Xplor program confirmed the copper potential with numerous areas for further exploration identified within the Broken Hill sequence. At least one such target lies within the newly acquired ground.
- Next steps will include ground geophysics to help identify targets for drilling.
- Terms of the acquisition are as follows: Impact to purchase BHA No 1 Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of NFM, for $275,000 in Impact shares and subject to staged voluntary escrow over six months commencing one month after Completion.
The acquisition builds on exploration and research completed as part of the BHP Xplor program, in which Impact participated in its inaugural year, and positions the company as one of the largest ground holders in the region, particularly to the south of Broken Hill. Impact now has 100% ownership of tenements covering 1,770 sq km and over 100 kilometres of strike (Figures 1 and 2; ASX Releases January 17, 2023, and February 16, 2023).
The Broken Hill region is currently experiencing a resurgence of interest in exploration. Broken Hill Mines (ASX: BHM, formerly Coolabah Metals Limited) recently purchased the privately owned Rasp Mine in Broken Hill and the nearby Pinnacles deposit. In addition, South32 Limited has entered a joint venture with a private company that owns a significant ground holding north of the Broken Hill mine. This interest is partly driven by a recent increase in silver prices and long-term demand trends for zinc and lead.
The Search for Copper at Broken Hill
Since the discovery of the giant Broken Hill deposit in 1883, most previous exploration has focused on silver-lead-zinc mineralisation. However, various styles of copper mineralisation are also known to occur throughout the region and have been the focus of some exploration and shallow drilling, though with limited success (Figures 1 and 2). Since copper mineralisation is commonly associated with, but peripheral to, numerous silver-lead-zinc deposits, many exploration geologists have asked, “Where is the large copper deposit at Broken Hill?”.
Figure 1. Image of regional total magnetic intensity showing the Broken Hill orebody (Line of Lode), Impact’s granted licences and licence applications and the new tenements acquired. Note the Thackeringa Fault and Farmcote shear zone, both interpreted as deep-seated long-lived crustal lineaments, and the interpreted sub-basin in the new tenements. Widespread copper occurrences attest to the prospectivity of the region for copper. Impact’s rock chip locations are also shown.
Figure 2. Image of the first vertical derivative of regional magnetic data as in Figure 1. A detailed interpretation of this data has resulted in the identification of numerous target areas for large copper deposits.
Impact became interested in the region's copper potential during exploration for silver-lead- zinc at the Dora East prospect, located about 30 km south of Broken Hill (Figures 1 and 2). Here, Impact discovered moderate widths of high-grade silver-lead-zinc mineralisation and narrow zones of high-grade copper-silver mineralisation (Figure 3 and ASX Releases December 8, 2015, and February 19 2016).
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Impact Minerals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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09 March
BHP to Spend up to A$40M to Explore for Tier 1 Copper-Silver Deposits on CBE Tenements in Botswana
Cobre Limited (ASX: CBE, Cobre or Company) is pleased to announce that CBE, and certain wholly owned subsidiaries (also Cobre), have executed an Earn-In Agreement (Transaction) with a wholly owned subsidiary of BHP Group Ltd (BHP) under which BHP will provide up to US$25 million (~A$40m) for exploration expenditure for Cobre's Kitlanya East and Kitlanya West Copper Projects (Kitlanya Projects) and be granted the right to earn a 75% interest in the Kitlanya Projects, located on the northern and southern basin margins respectively of the Kalahari Copper Belt (KCB) in Botswana. The Transaction is a result of Cobre's successful participation in the 2024 BHP Xplor program which also provided funding for the recently completed seismic survey on the Kitlanya West Project (see ASX announcement 22 August 2024).
Highlights
- The Transaction comprises the following key funding terms (detailed in Schedule 1):
- A minimum of US$5 million of committed funding to be paid to Cobre within 2 years of the commencement date with a planned budget of US$7m (A$11m) for exploration expenditure for the Kitlanya Projects starting in April 2025; and
- BHP can earn a 75% interest in the Kitlanya Projects by funding US$25 million (inclusive of the initial US$5 million) for exploration expenditure for the Kitlanya Projects.
- Cobre Botswana will be appointed operator during the earn-in phase and will be entitled to a management fee of no less than US$250,000 per annum.
- Upon commencement of the 75:25 joint venture, BHP may provide a loan to Cobre to fund Cobre's portion of joint venture expenditure up until the final investment decision.
- An additional payment of up to US$10 million, calculated at $5/tonne contained copper, is payable to Cobre upon the declaration of a maiden JORC Compliant Mineral Resource (JORC) at the Kitlanya Projects.
- If the Transaction is terminated during the Earn-In Phase and BHP has funded at least US$20 million for exploration expenditure, BHP will be entitled to a 2.0% net smelter royalty in respect of the Kitlanya Projects. Cobre may, in certain circumstances, buy back 50% of this royalty for an amount equal to the aggregate of exploration expenditure funded by BHP at the time of electing to exercise the buy-back.
- The Transaction does not cover Cobre’s flagship Ngami and Okavango Copper Projects which Cobre will continue to operate and advance independently.
The Transaction underscores Cobre's confidence in the potential for its projects to host Tier 1 copper- silver deposits. A partnership with BHP provides the exploration funding, scale and expertise to maximise Cobre's chances of making significant new discoveries on our basin margin exploration ground while retaining 100% ownership of its Ngami and Okavango Copper Projects.
The planned work programme for the initial US$7m includes several deep (~1km) diamond holes combined with active 2D seismic survey designed to assess key components of the Mineral System required for Tier 1 copper deposit formation. Mobilisation for the first phase of drilling, which will test targets identified in the 2024 seismic programme at Kitlanya West, is scheduled for April 2025.
Tim O’Connor, BHP Group Exploration Officer said:
"We are thrilled to continue our partnership with one of the BHP Xplor alumni, Cobre Limited, through this agreement. This collaboration reflects our excitement for the exploration potential in Botswana and underscores the high standard of partnerships we see coming out of the BHP Xplor program. The Kitlanya Projects in Botswana represent an exciting opportunity to uncover Tier 1 copper-silver deposits, and we are pleased to contribute our expertise and resources to this venture.”
Commenting on the Transaction, Adam Wooldridge, Cobre’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“This significant transaction with BHP, one of the world’s leading mining companies, is a major moment in time for Cobre as a company as well as a testament to the success of BHP’s Xplor programme. The partnership with BHP will provide us with the funding and support necessary to implement a technology-driven work programme designed to discover the Tier 1 deposits we believe may be hosted in our Kitlanya East and West Projects.
Independently, Cobre will continue advancing its Ngami and Okavango copper Projects.This combined strategy provides exposure to potential Tier 1 discoveries, a development opportunity at Ngami and short-term discoveries on our Okavango project.”
Commenting on the transaction, Martin Holland Chairman of the Cobre board, said:
“First and foremost, I would like to extend my gratitude to BHP for their exceptional efforts in the 2024 BHP Xplor program, which aims to foster bold thinking and elevate global exploration to new heights.
I would also like to thank the Cobre Board and team, especially our CEO Adam Wooldridge and Technical Lead Thomas Krebs, for their tireless dedication throughout the year-and-a-half-long process that has led us to this point and for their efforts in successfully finalising this transaction with BHP.”
Figure 1. Locality map illustrating the position of Cobre’s project areas. Green licenses are relevant tothe Transaction, dark grey licenses will be run, and are owned, independently by Cobre.
Geology, Mineralisation and Exploration Target
Mineralisation in the KCB is sediment-hosted and structurally controlled, with copper-silver mineralisation most frequently hosted along the redox contact between the basal units of the reduced marine sedimentary rocks of the D’Kar Formation and oxidised clastic sedimentary red bed units of the Kuke and Ngwako Pan Formations and the underlying volcanosedimentary Kgwebe Formation. Of particular interest for Tier 1 deposits are the tight, upright folds which offer ideal trap-sites for upgrading of copper-silver mineralisation and formation of large deposits. These folds are typically bounded by district-scale shears (often with evidence of copper anomalism) which would provide the necessary plumbing architecture for movement of copper-rich fluids during basin formation and subsequent closure and deformation. A schematic illustration of the preserved fold hinge model is illustrated in Figure 2. The upcoming exploration programme will focus on testing these buried anticline hinge zones along with assessing primary basin architecture, source rocks, fluid pathways and trap-site mechanisms.
Figure 2: Schematic illustrating of the target model compared with typical settings for known KCB deposits.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Cobre Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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04 March
BHP CEO Talks Critical Minerals Opportunities, Challenges in Canada
More than anything else, rapid urbanization is driving demand for critical minerals like copper around the world.
Delivering the opening keynote address at this year’s Prospectors and Developers Association Conference (PDAC) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) CEO Mike Henry spoke to the opportunities and challenges posed by the growth of urban centers around the world.
His presentation discussed how the mining industry, including Canada's, can respond to the growing demands on the resource sector and deliver the critical minerals that will be required over the next few decades.
The opportunity: Copper and critical minerals demand outpacing supply
Over the last 10 years, there has been a global population redistribution. For the first time, more of the world’s population lives in urban centers than in rural areas. Along with this shift has come greater densification, which has pushed electrical grids to their limits.
However, as Henry pointed out, this is just the beginning. By 2050, the global population will grow by 25 percent to 10 billion people, and the vast majority of them will live in urban centers.
“They are the engines of massive opportunity for our industry. More high rises, homes, roads and infrastructure, greater electrification, more phones, televisions, cars and air conditioning. More energy, more data centers to power AI and cloud computing,” he said.
This population boom means the world will need more of everything, from copper and steel to potash and other minerals.
As a company, BHP is a global powerhouse. Its portfolio of assets touches on a variety of minerals that will be critical in the coming decades; few, however, may be as important as copper. Henry suggests that demand for red metal will rise 70 percent over the next 15 years.
The massive surge in demand presents an enormous opportunity for the resource sector, especially for investors. Outlining the scale of capital required, Henry estimates that more than US$250 billion will be needed for mining and concentration to keep pace with demand growth, with additional funding needed for smelting and refining — and that’s just for copper.
When other minerals are added to the equation, the total could reach US$800 billion between now and 2040.
The first challenge: Finding significant critical mineral deposits in Canada
Although opportunities exist, they don’t come without challenges, and Henry suggests that the challenges exist both above and below ground.
“First, we’re going to have to find the resources… Those resources are big, large deposits that are becoming harder to find," he said. "They’re deeper, they're more remote, they come with new technical challenges, and they’re often in riskier jurisdictions."
This has led to BHP rethinking how it invests in exploration, seeing them not only fund and carry out exploration work itself, but partnering with other companies around the world.
Some of these partnerships have seen work being carried out in Canada with Henry suggesting considerable untapped resources in the country.
“Of course, Canada has extensive exploration history already, yet much of this has been at shallow depths in subaortic areas. So there remains potential to find deeper or underexplored parts of the country, and we’re engaged in that effort with a specific focus on copper,” he said.
The solution, he said, is to apply new technologies from other sectors, including 3D seismic sensors and muon tomography. However, this new technology generates huge amounts of data, which benefits from advances in artificial intelligence to help make sense of all the information being collected.
Henry says that BHP has taken a different approach to partnerships by borrowing from the tech sector.
“We’ve also borrowed the accelerator concept from big tech, and we are supporting innovative exploration technologies, methods, and ideas through our global accelerator program, BHP Explorer,” Henry said.
The implications are enormous for an industry that needs new ideas brought to the forefront in short timelines.
The second challenge: Government mining policies
However, the biggest challenge facing the resource sector comes not from within the industry but from outside it.
Henry suggested that the biggest changes can come from evolving government policy, and he thinks things are beginning to move in the right direction. Canada itself released a critical minerals strategy in 2021, and its latest update includes 34 minerals and metals.
“There has been a very welcome burst of renewed government interest in critical minerals in recent times, and the motivations do vary,” he said.
For some governments, this interest stems from a desire to use resources to unlock the economic opportunity associated with decarbonizing the global energy grid. Meanwhile, other governments are pursuing critical minerals needed to provide energy security, economic sovereignty and defense supply chain resilience.
Henry noted that some countries are taking steps to make themselves more competitive and are working to attract capital investment for projects through fiscal reform and tax credits. He also pointed out that some governments are streamlining the regulatory process, which he suggests will speed up development time and reduce risks.
Henry sees incredible benefits in Canada due to the strength of the mining sector, but he cautions that past successes aren’t indicative of future success. He believes Canada is in danger of missing out on the next great opportunities in the resource sector.
“Other countries have some mix of even better resource endowments in certain commodities, better tax and royalty regimes, more streamlined permitting processes, while still maintaining high standards and more productivity, enabling industrial relations framework,” Henry said.
Henry sees complacency and bureaucracy as the enemy of growth and economic security, and believes Canada needs to accelerate its efforts to match those being carried out elsewhere.
In comparison, he points to Chile, where he says they’ve accelerated permitting for multi-billion dollar greenfield projects to five to 10 years and even shorter for brownfield developments. In Canada, he said, those timelines stretch to 10 to 15 years.
“Global capital is going to flow to the best opportunities, risk return opportunities globally. So if a country isn’t constantly benchmarking and saying, what’s the combined effect of our industrial relations policies, our tax settings, our permitting process relative to the other countries that are chasing the same opportunity, we run the risk of falling behind,” Henry said.
What does this mean for investors?
Henry outlined a potential for staggering growth in the mining sector for critical minerals such as copper over the next 15 to 20 years. He suggested there is an opportunity for investors looking to get into the sector at all levels, from exploration to production.
He also noted that it is not without problems. When investors evaluate projects, especially early in development, they should recognize that a multitude of factors could determine their success or failure.
Henry touched on access to the resource, the depth of the deposit and its remoteness. He also noted that jurisdictions play a huge part in a project's success, so investors should research a country's permitting process and tax system, as well as why a country may look to fast-track projects and whether it affects a company’s risk analysis.
“Once capital mobilizes in one direction, sometimes it can be quite hard to mobilize back in the other,” Henry said.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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04 March
Anax Metals Limited
Investor Insight
Anax Metals, an ASX-listed exploration company, is dedicated to advancing its copper assets in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Through key joint ventures and strategic partnerships, the company is well-positioned to develop a central processing hub, enhancing operational efficiency and delivering strong investor value.
Overview
Anax Metals (ASX:ANX) is a project developer that is on track to begin producing copper and zinc concentrates from its flagship Whim Creek project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The project is 80 percent owned by Anax, with JV partner Develop Global (Develop) owning the remaining 20 percent. The Whim Creek DFS (and leaching study) have demonstrated the opportunity for an eight-year mining operation producing copper concentrates, cathodes and valuable byproducts. The operation will generate $410 million in cash flow and deliver an NPV of $270 million with a development capex of $71 million.
The company believes its growth potential lies both in expanding the mineral resources across the project’s four deposits and in a consolidation strategy that includes a processing hub with a concentrator and heap leach at Whim Creek. Benefits from the consolidation include delivering economies of scale with processing flexibility to treat ores from regional orebodies. The permitted infrastructure is ideally located and suited to becoming the Pilbara-processing hub.
Anax Metals and GreenTech Metals signed a non-binding and non-exclusive memorandum of understanding to assess the potential to treat mined material from GreenTech’s base metal assets, with a focus on the open-pittable Whundo deposit.
Anax Metals also signed a non-binding and non-exclusive memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) to jointly assess the potential for processing the copper content of Artemis’ open-pittable Greater Carlow resource at the fully-permitted Whim Creek Processing hub. Anax and Artemis also agree to evaluate the potential for Artemis to explore for gold mineralisation on the Anax project tenure.
Company Highlights
- Anax Metals focuses on delivering copper production at the Whim Creek copper-zinc project within the next 18 to 24 months, targeting over $400 million in free cash flow across an eight-year mine life.
- The company aims to drive resource expansion and consolidate copper assets in the Pilbara region by developing a central processing hub.
- Since completing the DFS last year, Anax Metals has been evaluating opportunities to increase Whim Creek’s production capacity beyond 20 kt of copper equivalent per year.
- Capital requirements are expected to remain low, with plans to leverage existing infrastructure and deploy preconcentration technology to optimize processing capacity..
- Anax Metals actively collaborates with key partners, including Develop Global (ASX:DVP), Greentech Metals (ASX:GRE), and several metal trading groups.
Key Projects
Whim Creek Copper-Zinc Project
Whim Creek is strategically located along the NW Coastal Highway in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, approximately 120 km from both Port Hedland and Karratha. With a long history of copper production, the project benefits from existing infrastructure, including dams, haul roads, offices, workshops, and a dedicated gas spur line. Currently being developed as an 80/20 joint venture between Anax Metals and Develop Global, Whim Creek hosts four key deposits—Whim Creek, Mons Cupri, Salt Creek, and Evelyn. These deposits feature structurally controlled, volcanic-hosted massive sulphide copper-zinc-lead mineralization, presenting significant development potential.
On-going exploration work at Evelyn resulted in discovering exciting new targets for future drilling campaigns scheduled in early 2025. Exploration works conducted in 2024 indicated high copper grades and new soil anomalies. The company is assessing the regional potential of the granted Evelyn Mining Lease for further high-grade VMS-type, polymetallic base metal deposits.
Anax Metals announced its recent application for an exploration license (E47/5275) covering 65 sub-blocks spanning approximately 207 sq. km, which extends the company’s landholding to the south and west of the Whim Creek joint venture tenement package. Once granted, the new tenement will be 100 percent owned by Anax. The majority of E47/5275 lies within the Whim Creek Greenstone Belt, which is highly prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization, similar to the Whim Creek and Mons Cupri deposits.
Production – Concentrator and Heap Leach
Since completing the definitive feasibility study in 2023, Anax has promoted Whim Creek as a regional processing hub, with potential for an expanded production capacity over 20 kt copper equivalent. Highlights of the technical report include FCF generation of $410 million over an eight-year mine life. Processing would be predominantly through the planned concentrator. Heap leaching is anticipated to begin in the second year of production.
Anax has achieved significant success with bioleaching technology, reporting up to 80 percent copper and 90 percent zinc extraction rates. This innovative approach enhances metal recovery and supports the company’s commitment to sustainable practices.
A processing hub with sorting, concentrator and heap leach facilities
The company believes the project will also provide a processing solution for surrounding projects located within trucking distance of Anax’s processing facility. In the long term, Anax plans to establish a Pilbara Base Metal Alliance to facilitate collaboration with other base metal projects in the region.
Management Team
Phillip Jackson - Chairman
Phillip Jackson is a barrister and solicitor with significant legal and international corporate experience, Phillip Jackson specialises in commercial and contract law, mining and energy law and corporate governance. He has been a director and chairman of a number of ASX and AIM listed minerals companies.
Geoff Laing - Managing Director
Geoff Laing is a chemical engineer with 30 years in mining and project development. He has been involved in the exploration and junior mining sector for the last 15 years, taking on corporate and advisory roles. He was a key player in Exco Resources’ divestment of a substantial copper asset for $175 million to Xstrata Copper, and as managing director, he delivered the successful takeover of the company by WH Sol Pattinson.
Peter Cordin - Non-executive Director
Peter Cordin is a civil engineer with over 45 years' global experience in mining and exploration, both at operational and senior management levels. He has direct experience in the construction and management of diamond and gold operations in Australia, Fenno-Scandinavia and Indonesia.
Phil Warren - Non-executive Director
Phil Warren is a chartered accountant with over 25 years’ experience in board governance, corporate advisory and capital raising advice. Warren has spent a number of years working overseas for major international investment banks. He is currently a non-executive director of ASX listed companies, including Family Zone Cyber Safety, Narryer Metals, Killi Resource and Rent.com.au. He was a founding director of Cassini Resources, which was subsequently acquired by Oz Minerals.
Jenine Owen - Chief Financial Officer
Jenine Owen joined Anax in 2020, where she is responsible for corporate risk management, financial management and financial reporting. She is a chartered accountant with extensive finance and commercial experience, including several CFO roles in ASX listed entities. Having started her career with Deloitte (Zimbabwe) in the external assurance division, she moved to London in 1999 where she held various finance and governance roles before settling in Australia in 2008. Prior to joining Anax, Owen was CFO at Predictive Discovery (ASX:PDI).
Andrew Mcdonald - General Manager
Andrew McDonald is a seasoned geologist with over 20 years of experience in project management, development, resource geology, and exploration across a wide range of commodities. He has held roles with several ASX-listed mining companies, where he has led project development and managed regulatory approvals for mining projects in both Australia and the United States.
Dan O’Hara – Environmental Manager
Dan O’Hara is an experienced environmental professional with over 15 years in environmental management across the mining, oil and gas, construction, and government sectors. In recent years, he has played a key role in securing environmental permits for mining projects in Western Australia.
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03 March
American West Gearing up for Transformational Year at the Storm Copper Project, Canada
Major drilling and exploration campaign planned for 2025 as Positive PEA lays foundation for mine development
American West Metals Limited (American West Metals or the Company) (ASX:AW1) is pleased to announce positive findings of the Preliminary Economic Analysis (PEA) for the Storm Copper Project (Storm or the Project) on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada.
Positive Preliminary Economic Analysis (PEA) defines Pathway to Production:
- Initial production target. Study on a starter operation at Storm based on mining inventory of 10.3Mt @ 1.3% Cu, 3.7g/t Ag delivers 487,000t of copper concentrate at 17.1% Cu, 49g/t Ag
- 10-year production plan. Initial mine plan covers 10 years of production with scope to increase both the scale of the mining operation and the mine life with potential increases in the Storm Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE)
- Attractive financials. Robust economics (estimated based on the assumptions in the base case and assuming no leverage):
- Total revenue – Approx. US$839m
- Post-tax NPV8 – Approx. US$149m
- Post-tax IRR – Approx. 46%
- Payback of Approx. 3 years
- Low-cost operation. Very low capex and operating costs of approximately:
- Initial CAPEX - US$47.4m
- Life of mine CAPEX - US$80.3m
- C1 Cost - US$2.63/lb
- Enhanced shareholder returns with leverage. Pre-tax IRR of approximately 135% with project development using 100% debt finance. American West is in discussions with a number of parties that are considering proposals to provide off-take finance or other debt solutions for development of Storm
- Innovative processing with high ESG credentials. Simple ore-sorting and beneficiation produces a high-quality copper-silver product with zero deleterious elements, chemicals, and tailings
- Mine permitting to commence. Mine permitting will now be initiated based on the PEA with potential for a further US$3.5 million to be advanced in the near- term under the Storm royalty arrangement with Taurus Mining Royalty Fund
2025 drilling to accelerate growth of copper resources:
- Existing resource is just the beginning. Major drill program planned for 2025 to accelerate the definition of copper resources along the 110km Storm Copper belt
- 2024 discoveries ready for resource definition drilling. Potential to rapidly increase the MRE through resource definition drilling of new discoveries, including:
- The Gap – a strong EM anomaly confirmed with drilling that returned 20m @ 2.3% Cu from 28m
- Cyclone Deeps – potential continuation of the large Cyclone Deposit at depth with drill intercepts such as 10m @ 1.2% Cu from 311m
- Squall – EM anomaly with drilling confirming high-grade copper of 1.5m @ 2.36 Cu from 181.4m at end of hole
- Hailstorm – chalcocite boulders at surface that returned assays of >50% Cu within a geochemical soil anomaly over 3km2
- Regional targets highlight large endowment potential. Pipeline of large-scale exploration targets along the 110km copper belt including:
- Tornado/Blizzard – located 5km east of the Storm copper deposits the area hosts a 3.2km x 1.5km geochemical copper anomaly and two large electromagnetic (EM) plates yet to be drilled
- Tempest – 4km long zone of gossans located 40km south of the Storm MRE with assays from surface samples returning base metal grades up to 38.2% Cu and 30.8% Zn
- Geophysics to generate new targets. Large airborne Mobile Magneto-Telluric (MT) survey planned for the Storm MRE area and other areas of interest along the 110km prospective copper horizon
- Forward planning for 2025 field season. The sealift operation completed in Q4 2024 delivered bulk supplies to Storm in preparation for the 2025 field season, significantly streamlining logistics to enable a short lead time for start of drilling in 2025 and reducing 2025 costs by circa. $4m
The PEA has outlined a technically robust project and demonstrated that Storm has the potential to become a profitable, long-life mine with strong economic returns for the Company.
The PEA estimates that an open pit mining and mineral processing facility at Storm can be developed with a low initial capital cost of US$47.4m to deliver a project NPV of approximately US$149m and a post-tax IRR of approximately 46%.
Shareholder returns can be substantially enhanced by use of 100% debt to fund development, which boosts the approximate pre-tax IRR to an impressive 135%. American West is in ongoing discussions with a number of parties regarding the potential for off-take or other debt-based financing for the development of Storm.
The PEA is based on the current Storm MRE of 20.6Mt at 1.1% Cu and 3.8g/t Ag which contains 229Kt of copper and 2.2Moz of silver (using a 0.35% Cu cut-off). With less than 5% of the 110km prospective copper horizon at Storm systematically explored with drilling and numerous exploration targets already identified along the copper belt, there is strong potential to add significant copper resources to the Storm MRE. The Company is planning a major exploration program for 2025 to test a pipeline of high-quality copper targets.
American West believes the dual focus of exploration in pursuit of new discoveries while progressing feasibility studies will continue to stamp Storm as an attractive copper development opportunity.
The below key economic metrics of the PEA highlight the competitive cost profile and investment returns (all financial metrics are approximations estimated on the basis of assumptions in the PEA). A copy of the PEA is attached to this ASX Release.
Dave O’Neill, American West’s Managing Director, said:
“Our field work and development studies in 2024 have laid the groundwork for what we believe will be a transformational year for American West.
“The initial economic study is an enormous milestone for the Storm Copper Project. It is exciting to announce a low capital cost pathway to mine development with significant upside to expand the production profile and mine life as our continuing exploration identifies further copper resources.
“Storm is now well positioned to be the next copper mine in Canada, joining other very successful base metal mines in the region such as Polaris (22Mt @ 14.1% Zn, 4% Pb) which operated for 21 Years, and Nanisivik (18Mt @ 9% Zn, 0.7% Pb) which operated for 26 years. We will now initiate the permitting process and progress feasibility study work.
“American West will also continue a strong focus on resource expansion and exploration drilling to fully unlock the resource potential along the prospective 110km copper belt at Storm.
“Exploration in 2024 delivered a pipeline of new discoveries and targets that we will follow-up in 2025. There are several large-scale exploration targets that offer excellent potential for a new discovery – walk-up drill targets that are supported by strong EM plates, gravity anomalies, copper gossans at surface, or high-grade copper confirmed by reconnaissance drilling.
“There is very strong potential to quickly add tonnes to the existing mineral resource estimate. With the scoping study supporting the economic potential of a mining operation at Storm, any increase in the resource is likely to further enhance the potential economics of that mining operation.
“We look forward to updating investors on the 2025 field program as arrangements are finalised.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from American West Metals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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