Name and Location
Kipoi copper project, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Client
Tiger Resources (60%) and La Générale des Carrière et des Mines (40%).

Project Description
The Kipoi project covers an area of 55 km² and is located 75 km north-north-west of the city of Lubumbashi, in Katanga. The project contains a 12 km sequence of mineralised Roan sediments that host at least five known deposits – Kipoi Central, Kipoi North, Kileba, Judeira and Kaminafitwe.

Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resources have been reported at three of the deposits. The principal deposit is Kipoi Central, which contains a zone of high-grade copper mineralisation within a much larger, lower-grade global resource.

Tiger is taking a phased development approach at the project.

The high-grade zone of mineralisation at Kipoi Central will be exploited during the Stage 1 development. The Stage 1 heavy-media separation (HMS) plant is in production and is expected to process 2.7-million tonnes of ore grading about 7% copper to produce a total of 113 000 t of copper in concentrate over its 39-month life.

The existing infrastructure at Kipoi for the Stage 1 HMS facility will be a springboard for the development of the Stage 2 solvent extraction electrowinning (SXEW) plant, thereby minimising costs for the Stage 2 development. It is envisaged that ore from the Judeira deposit, and other deposits within the Kipoi project area and the nearby 100%-owned Lupoto project, will also be processed during the Stage 2 operations, providing additional returns and increasing the mineral resources available as feedstock to the Stage 2 SXEW plant. Increased resources will potentially increase the nine-year mine life, demonstrated in the feasibility study and/or yearly plant throughput.

The HMS plant is producing more than 36 000 t/y of copper in a 25% concentrate. After a short overlap period, during which the HMS and SXEW facilities will operate simultaneously, the HMS will be superseded in the second quarter of 2014 by the SXEW plant, which will produce LME grade-A copper cathode directly at the mine site.

Value
Stage 1 cost an estimated $30-million.

Stage 2 will cost $160.9-million.

Duration
The Stage 2 SXEW plant is targeted to come on stream in 2014.

Latest Developments
Tiger Resources has drawn down on a A$50-million advanced payment facility from Gerald to support the construction of its Stage 2 solvent extraction and electrowinning (SXEW) plant at the Kipoi copper project.

The advance payment is part of an agreement between Gerald and Tiger’s 60%-held subsidiary, Societe d’Exploitation de Kipoi SPRL.

The parties also have an offtake agreement that will result in Gerald taking about 100 000 t of copper cathode from the Stage 2 operation, which is nearing its final stages of construction and is on schedule to deliver its first cathode product by the second quarter of 2014.

About 25 000 t of copper cathode will be produced within the first 12 months of the SXEW plant starting, with production set to increase to 50 000 t over the following 12 months.

In addition to the SXEW plant, Tiger will also produce about 39 000 t of copper in concentrate from the heavy-media separation plant at Kipoi during 2014.

The offtake agreement for Gerald is for 2 000 t/m of cathode, which will be delivered during the initial phase of the SXEW operations, increasing to 2 500 t/m after the proposed expansion to 50 000 t/y capacity.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
MCK Mining (mining contract – Stage 1), DRA Mineral Projects (lump-sum turnkey contract  for the design, installation commissioning of the HMS – Stage 1), Group Five (subcontractor – construction works for Stage 1), Arccon Mining Services (scoping study), Cube Consulting (pit optimisations), Coffey Mining (tailings dam – design and costing) and Senet (SXEW).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Tiger Resources, tel +61 8 9240 1933, fax +61 8 9240 2406 or email tiger@tigerez.com.
DRA Mineral Projects, tel +27 11 202 8600, fax +27 11 202 8807 or email dra@drasa.co.za.
Group Five, tel +27 11 806 0111, fax +27 11 803 5520 or email info@groupfive.co.za.
ARccon Mining Services, tel +61 8 9340 6100, fax +61 8 9340 6150 or email mining@arccon.com.au.
Cube Consulting (South Africa), tel +27 12 665 2154, fax +27 27 665 1176 or email highveld@cubeconsulting.com.
Coffey Mining (South Africa), tel +27 11 679 3331 or +27 11 679 3272.
Senet, tel +2711 409 1300 or  fax +2711 409 1301.