PERU – A subsidiary of Vancouver-based
Silver Wheaton Corp. has agreed to purchase 100% of the silver production and 25% of the gold production from the Cotabambas advanced copper-gold-silver-molybdenum project. The project is wholly owned by
Panoro Minerals, also headquartered in Vancouver.
Silver Wheaton has agreed to pay US$140 million for the first 90 million oz of silver equivalent delivered. Thereafter, the stream will drop to 66.67% of silver production and 16.67% of gold production for the life of the mine. Silver Wheaton will then pay US$5.90 per oz of silver and US$450 per oz of gold produced or the prevailing market price (whichever is lower) until the mine closes. The long term prices are subject to a 1% annual inflation adjustment starting in the fourth year after the completion test.
The Cotabambas deposit has been systematically explored since 1995. The project has indicated resources of 117.1 million tonnes at average grades of 0.42% Cu, 0.23 g/t Au, and 2.74 g/t Ag containing 1.09 billion lb of copper, 0.86 million oz of gold, and 10.3 million oz of silver. There is also an inferred resource of 605.3 million tonnes at average grades of 0.31% Cu, 0.17 g/t Au, and 2.33 g/t Ag containing 4.16 billion lb of copper, 3.38 million oz of gold, and 45.37 million oz of silver.
The updated PEA envisions a nominal processing throughput of 80,000 t/d of oxide, mixed and sulphide ores in a conventional copper concentrator that will produce about 270,000 t/y of copper, gold and silver concentrate with copper as the main payable metal.
More information about the Cotabambas project is available at
www.Panoro.com.
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