COPPER DEVELOPMENT: Mill building begins at Red Chris

BRITISH COLUMBIA – Construction at the Red Chris copper project 80 km south of Dease Lake is well underway, says owner Imperial Metals Corp. of Vancouver. Excavation in the process plant area has been completed, and the first concrete was poured near the end of September. The road between the plant area and tailings pond is complete. Plant start-up is planned in 2014.

The Red Chris mine will initially be two open pits and 30,000-t/d mill. Conventional truck and shovel methods will be used. Standard flotation technology is planned for the mill. Proven and probable reserves are 301.6 million tonnes at 0.359% Cu and 0.274 g/t Au. Over the life of the mine, 2.1 billion lb of copper and 1.3 million oz of gold will be recovered in concentrate.

Total direct costs of the project are estimated to be $320.8 million. Details are available in the 2012 Red Chris technical report.

See ImperialMetals.com.