Name and Location
Ajax copper/gold project, British Columbia, Canada.

Client
KGHM International.

Project Description
The proposed mine plan envisages a conventional openpit operation producing 60 000 t/d, with development being undertaken in seven stages.

The longest span of the pit will be about 2.6 km in an east–west direction and an estimated 1.4 km in a north–south direction.

The mine plan is based on the extraction of 503-million tonnes of ore for processing during 23 years of operation at an overall stripping ratio of 2.4:1 waste to ore.

An elevated cutoff strategy will be employed. This will result in four stockpiles, three of which are planned to be treated. The fourth stockpile represents potential project upside and may be processed in times of higher commodity prices. A conventional truck-and-shovel fleet will be used, in conjunction with an in-pit-crush and-convey system from the seventh year. Mining will be conducted on 12 m benches. Drill-and-blast will be required. Horizontal drains are proposed as the primary means to depressurise potential bench-scale wedge and planar failures.

In-pit water will be removed through ditches, pipes, sumps, pumps and booster pumps. The construction of two waste-rock storage facilities is planned on the north side of the pit and the east side of the pit.

Value
The overall estimated capital cost is $795-million.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
KGHM recently concluded a comprehensive evaluation of the project, which considered potential opportunities to modify the project’s layout that would permit increasing the distance between some of the project’s structures and the closest residential neighbourhoods and public infrastructure.

The evaluation also included geologic surveys on the project area that identified possible orebodies, which could potentially increase the project’s copper and gold resources. KGHM is conducting additional drilling, as well as studies, to evaluate the economic viability of the mineralised zones.

The Ajax team is focused on maximising all of these potential benefits.

The work required to finalise KGHM’s studies and plans, however, is not yet complete.

As a result, the company will not submit its environmental assessment application in September as it had previously announced. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.

The project remains a viable development, with significant benefits to Kamloops and the surrounding areas. KGHM is planning four community information sessions from September 9 to September 12 to discuss inputs to and the design of KGHM’s air, water, noise and vibration model, as well as the company’s human health and ecological risk assessment.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
KGHM external affairs manager Yves Lacasse, tel +1 250 374 5446.