The Canadian mining company Nevsun, which has recently acquired exploration rights at the Cukaru Peki site near Bor, potentially the richest copper and gold site in the world, intends to complete geological exploration of the area by late 2017, following which the preparations for the opening of the mine will begin.
With USD 60 million at its disposal, Nevsun intends to explore 113 kilometers more by September 2017, after which they will start preparing the feasibility study and the study on opening the mine, which, as it has now been confirmed, will be exploited through underground mining methods, as the copper and the gold are located at great depths.
Parallel to this, Nevsun plans to carry out all the accompanying work, like getting the necessary permits for opening the mine, purchasing the land, preparing the study on environmental impact, the manner of exploitation and ore processing.
Nevsun will invest up to USD 40 million in the exploration of the upper zone of the Cukaru Peki site and explore 50,000 meters. They will invest USD 20 million in the lower zone of the site, where they are partners with the American mining corporation Freeport McMoran, in order to explore an additional 67,000 meters and definitely put an end to the geological exploration of this area.
The latest research shows that, in one of the boreholes, at the depth of 179 meters, a layer of 84 meters has been found, with the copper content of 10.75% and gold at 10.86 grams per ton. In another borehole, a deposit of the incredible 15.85% of cooper and as much as 16.77 grams of gold per ton has been found in a 46 m layer.
For comparison, ore with no more than 0.4% of copper is currently being exploited in the mines belonging to MSC Bor. Sites containing 1% of copper, if accompanied by adequate amounts of ore, are considered profitable. The best indication on how rich the site is is the fact that in the past 110 years of mining at Bor, five million tons of copper and nearly 160 tons of gold have been extracted.
The starting resources of 1.7 million tons of copper and 98 tons of gold have been determined at the Cukaru Peki site. At the depth of 558 to 559 meters, a resources of the incredible 25.7% of copper and 50.3 grams of gold per ton has been discovered, which makes it the richest borehole on the planet so far.
source: ekapija.com
