The Corner Bay deposit contains an indicated resource of 2.7 million tonnes grading 2.68% copper and 0.26 g/t gold and an inferred resource of 4.5 million tonnes at 3.2% copper and 0.27 g/t gold. The deposit contains 157 million lb. of copper in the indicated category and 320 million lb. of copper in the inferred category.
The company says the increased size of the resource estimate is a step-change for the economic potential of underground mining. There is already ramp access to the Corner Bay deposit and 2 km of development on three levels. The mine would also be within trucking distance of the 2,700 t/d Copper Rand mill which Doré Copper owns in Chibougamau.
The company also believes there is significant exploration potential to continue increasing the resource. Ongoing drilling has connected the Main vein and Lower Deep vein below the dyke. The deposit remains open down plunge below a vertical depth of 1,100 metres, and there are untested subparallel zones.
“Our next priority is the completion of the PEA study for the re-development plan of a hub-and-spoke operation model with Corner Bay as the main feed to our centralized mill, supplemented by the Devlin and Joe Mann deposits,” said president and CEO Ernest Mast. “The plan is to continue exploration drilling from surface at Corner Bay and commence infill drilling in 2022 for a feasibility study anticipated in early 2023.”
Doré Copper has awarded the contract to lead the preliminary economic assessment to BBA Inc.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
