ARIZONA – The US Environmental Protection Agency has issued the draft underground injection control permit for the Florence copper production test facility in the town of the same name. The project is owned by Taseko Mines of Vancouver.
The Florence project will use in situ copper recovery, and the issuance of the permit is the final milestone for construction and operation of the injection wells. Its issuance also triggers a 60-day public comment period before the final permit is issued.
Taseko released the Florence pre-feasibility study in 2013, noting that the project has a pre-tax net present value of US$727 million (7.5% discount) with an internal rate of return of 36%. Even after tax the NPV will be US$503 million and the IRR 29%. The estimated initial capital cost will be US$208 million and the life-of-project direct operations costs will be US$0.80/lb of copper recovered.
The Florence property was first explored in the early 1960s. The oxide portion of the deposit consists primarily of chrysocolla with lesser other secondary copper minerals. The thickness of this zone averages 120 metres. Below the oxide mineralization are sulphide (hypogene) and enriched (supergene) zones. The fracturing of the oxide mineralogy and the presence of an overlying clay layer or aquitard make the Florence deposit amenable to in situ recovery.
Readers might enjoy the photos from the Florence site at TasekoMines.com/florence.
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