Oroco unveils Santo Tomas copper PEA, shares rise
Oroco Resources Corp. [OCO-TSXV, ORRCF-OTC] has announced a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) and updated mineral resource estimate for the north and south zones at its Santo Tomas copper-molybdenum-gold project in northwest Mexico.
“In summary, the Santo Tomas Project clearly has robust potential for the development of a large, low-cost open-pit, copper mining operation,’’ said Oroco CEO Richard Lock.
Oroco shares rallied on the news, advancing 9.09% or $0.06 to 72 cents. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $1.29 and 64 cents.
The company said the PEA results support a staged open pit mine and processing plant starting at 60,000 tonnes per day the first year of production and expanding to 120,000 tonnes in year two. The PEA envisages a lifespan of 20.1 years.
Total life-of-mine payable copper production is estimated at 4.74 billion pounds.
The initial capital cost is pegged at US$1,34 billion with sustaining and expansion capital estimated at US$,134.5 billion. Oroco is estimating a pre-tax, net present value (8.0%) of US$2.3 billion.
The PEA mineral resource estimate includes two primary mineralized zones: North Zone and South Zone. These zones display similar mineralization styles but are physically separated by localized post-mineralization faults and material currently identified as waste due to a lack of drilling.
The North Zone hosts an indicated resource of 561 million tonnes, containing 4.57 billion pounds of copper equivalent (CuEq). On top of that is inferred resource in the North Zone of 118.3 million tonnes of 848 million pounds of CuEq.
The South Zone is estimated to contain an inferred resource of 430.8 million tonnes of 3.3 billion pounds of CuEq.
The Santo Tomas project covers 9,034 hectares of mineral concessions encompassing significant porphyry copper mineralization in northern Sinaloa and southwest Chihuahua, Mexico. The project is, located within 160 kilometres of the Pacific deep-water port at Topolobampo
The project is situated within the Santo Tomas District, which extends from Santo Tomas up to the Jinchuan Group’s Bahuerachi project, approximately 14 kilometres to the north east.
“This is a significant start to the process of evaluating Santo Tomas,’’ said Lock. The PEA firmly demonstrates the economic viability of the Santo Tomas Project and justifies its continued development,’’ he said.
“The combination of excellent infrastructure, simple metallurgy, a cohesive and consistent grade distribution, and low strip ratio, along with the identification of several existing opportunities for resource expansion provide additional strength and certainty to the project.’’
Lock was appointed CEO of Oroco in April 2022, when he replaced Craig Dalziel, who assumed the role of Executive Chairman. Lock also joined the company’s board of directors.
A mining engineer, Lock has led the construction and development of several large mining projects around the world. He most recently was senior vice-president of PolyMet Mining Corp. [POM-TSX, PLM – NYSE] and Project Director for its NorthMet Project in Minnesota.