Making a presentation at the Africa Down Under mining conference in Australia recently, Discovery Metals' managing director, Brad Sampson said that a bankable feasibility study on the P910 million ($130-million) Boseto copper project is expected to be complete in March next year. He said the company is eyeing an 18-month mine construction schedule to deliver first copper concentrate by the end of 2011. "We do not have any off-take agreements in place yet, but expect those and project financing and other operating parameters to come together around March next year," Sampson said according to Miningweekly. He explained that the project was located in a totally undeveloped copper province and there is substantial potential in Boseto, as the mineralisation was open along strike and at depth.
Infill drilling will be completed later this month, after which the company hopes to move a large percentage of the 50-million ton resource, with a grade of 1.5 percent copper to the measured and indicated category. Discovery is considering scaling up the project and to increase the feed grade into the two-million ton a year concentrator and to extend the estimated life-of-mine beyond the current 10 years.
