It’s been a wave of good news for Canadian copper exploration company Marimaca Copper Corp. (TSX: MARI, OTC: CROJF, Forum). This month, the company provided results from an induced polarization survey completed at its flagship asset – the Marimaca Copper Project. The project is recognized as one of the most important copper deposits in Chile in the last decade. It represents a new type of deposit which challenges accepted exploration wisdom and may open new frontiers for discoveries elsewhere in the country.
The company identified an extensive chargeability anomaly below the Marimaca Oxide Deposit. Marimaca completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment for the deposit in 2020, which highlighted its unique characteristics and showed that the project has the potential to be among the lowest capital and operating cost copper projects when in production – delivering a post tax NPV 8 of USD$524m using a USD$3.15/lb copper price.
Marimaca Copper VP of Exploration, Sergio Rivera said the company is pleased with the results of the IP survey.
“The IP has provided significant additional structural information, including highlighting the importance of the various cross-cutting fault structures for the mineralization at Marimaca. This has provided us with several areas of focus for drilling at the Marimaca Sulphide Target.”
According to Capital.com, copper prices are expected to climb. In a recent poll from Reuters, metals analysts were asked for their price expectations for this year and copper came out on top with an expected median price of $6,800 a ton.
Following these promising results, on February 3, the company announced it would be welcoming Clive Newall as a non-executive Director of the Board.
Marimaca Copper Executive Chairman Michael Haworth said Newell is an industry veteran with an extraordinary track record of value creation for his stakeholders.
“We’re extremely pleased that he has agreed to join the board of Marimaca at an exciting and pivotal time in our development. Through his leadership position at First Quantum, Newell has extensive experience in the development of copper assets, but also supporting exploration strategies to expand resources. Given our strategy is to move the Marimaca Oxide Deposit through feasibility, permitting and towards production, while concurrently testing our exciting exploration potential, the addition of his skill and experience could not come at a better time for the company.”
Newall has spent the last 25 years, and most of his career in the leadership team of one of the world’s largest global copper companies, TSX-listed, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. He is a co-founder and was President and Director of First Quantum since its formation in 1996. First Quantum Minerals is a global mining company producing copper and nickel, as well as gold and cobalt. Its portfolio of operations and projects spans four continents and employs around 20,000 people.
Newall graduated from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, England in 1971 with an honours degree in Mining Geology, and was awarded an MBA from the Scottish Business School at Strathclyde University. He has worked in mining and exploration throughout his career, having held senior management positions with Amax Exploration Inc. and the Robertson Group plc.
Newall said after following Marimaca Copper’s progress over the years, he’s delighted to be joining its board.
“First Quantum was founded on a small but high-quality asset, which created the foundation for our team to build a globally significant copper producer. The Marimaca Oxide Deposit also appears to be a unique and high-quality asset in a fantastic jurisdiction, and I am excited by its potential to become the cornerstone for Marimaca Copper to build its own copper story.”
With a lack of new copper exploration discoveries in Chile, the Marimaca Copper project is a high-profile development project, owing to its location in the coastal belt at low elevation, close to Antofagasta and Mejillones. This prime location could enable the future development of this high margin copper project at a relatively low capital investment. Marimaca would benefit from nearby first-class existing infrastructure and utilities which ensures a lower execution risk.
For further information visit marimaca.com.
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