JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Sandfire Resources, as the manager of the Springfield joint venture (JV), has submitted a mining lease application to the Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum for the Monty copper/gold project and has started a feasibility study for the project.

Sandfire, which owned 70% of the Springfield JV with Talisman Mining as 30% owner, reported on Thursday that the decision to proceed with an application followed the completion of a high-level study to identify the primary value drivers for the Monty deposit and determine the development pathway for the project.

The study identified no fatal flaws and investigated the optionality of various project elements including surface infrastructure locations, site access, mining methods and permitting and approval pathways. This study had identified the preferred location of surface infrastructure including the box-cut and decline entrance portal.

A maiden indicated and inferred resource of 1.05-million tonnes, grading 9.4% copper and 1.6 g/t gold, was completed for the Monty copper/gold VMS deposit in April this year, providing the foundation for a potential new satellite mining operation located 10 km east of the DeGrussa copper/gold project.

Given the proximity of Monty to the existing DeGrussa mine, it was envisaged that a number of mining, administrative and support services would be provided by the existing mining and infrastructure services and facilities at DeGrussa.

Meanwhile, Sandfire reported that negotiations to formalise agreements with Talisman relating to Monty construction and mining activities, as well as potential ore process routes and terms, would continue in parallel with the feasibility study.

Sandfire MD Karl Simich said the lodgement of a mining lease application for Monty and the start of a feasibility study demonstrated the “clear intent” of the Springfield JV to bring the Monty deposit into production as rapidly as possible.

“With an exceptionally high-grade resource containing almost 100 000 t of copper and 55 000 oz of gold, Monty is a valuable and strategic asset with the potential to make a significant contribution to our future production profile at DeGrussa,” he said.

“While we are continuing to progress systematic exploration activities aimed at discovering additional VMS lenses in the near-mine environment, we are also committed to advancing the commercial evaluation of the deposit as quickly as possible and working with our JV partner, Talisman Mining, to unlock the significant value of this strategic resource.

“We look forward to receiving the results of the Monty feasibility study early next year, which will include the results of a study on integrating ore feed from Monty into the future production profile at DeGrussa.”