Rockcliff releases PEA for Manitoba copper project
Rockcliff Metals Corp. [RCLF-CSE, RO0-FSE; A2H60G-WKN] on Friday December 11 announced the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its 100%-owned Tower and Rail project in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake area of central Manitoba.
The PEA envisions developing the Tower Deposit in parallel with the refurbishment of the leased Bucko Mill facility followed by the development of the Rail Deposit. This would result in a combined mine life of seven years, with exploration upside at both properties, the company said in a press release.
Highlights of the PEA include average steady-state copper equivalent production of 18,600 tonnes per annum and annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $89 million.
Pre-production capital is estimated at $95 million with an all-in-sustaining cost of US$1.91 per copper equivalent pound sold. Over its projected mine life, the project is expected to produce 239 million pounds of copper equivalent metal.
Rockcliff is a well-funded Canadian resource development and exploration company with a fully functional 1,000 tonnes-per-day leased processing (the Bucko Mill) and tailings facility as well as several advanced stage high-grade copper and zinc dominant VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) deposits in the Snow Lake area of Manitoba.
Rockcliff is the largest junior landholder in the area, controlling over 4,500 square kilometres. It’s portfolio of properties includes eight of the highest-grade, undeveloped volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits and five lode-gold properties held by Goldpath Resources Corp., a unit of Rockcliff, including the historic Rex-Laguna gold mine, which has been optioned to Kinross Gold Corp. [K-TSX, KGC-NYSE].
The Rail Deposit is located within trucking distance (185 kilometres) from Rockcliff’s processing facility and is part of the company’s property portfolio in Snow Lake. The Rail copper deposit hosts a NI 43-101 indicated resource of 1.2 million tonnes grading 2.73% copper, 0.8 g/t gold, 0.9% zinc, 8.9 g/t silver (90.7 million pounds of copper eqivalent) and an inferred resource of 728,000 tonnes of grade 3.11% copper, 1.11 g/t gold, 0.7% zinc, 8.5 g/t silver (65.6 million pounds of copper equivalent).
The Tower Property is located 130 km from the processing facility and hosts a NI 43-101-compliant indicated resource of 1.45 million tonnes, grading 4.28% copper, 1.21% zinc, 0.76 g/t gold and 21.6 g/ silver (167.6 million pounds of copper equivalent). On top of that is an inferred resource of 160,000 tonnes of grad 2.65% copper, 1.84% zinc, 0.30 g/t gold and 11.6 g/t silver (11.6 million pounds of CuEq).