White Pine Copper Announces Robust Pre-Feasibility Study for Michigan Mine
White Pine Copper LLC has announced the results of its Pre-Feasibility Study for the White Pine North Project in Michigan, USA. The study outlines a technically and economically robust plan to redevelop the historic White Pine copper district as a modern underground mining operation.
The project is expected to produce 5.4 million ore tonnes per year and more than 45,000 tonnes of payable copper per year over its 26-year mine life.
The study's financial model was developed on an 8% discount rate with long-term consensus commodity price assumptions of US$4.97/lb copper and US$53.69/oz silver.
According to the study, the project has a post-tax net present value (NPV) at an 8% discount rate of US$1,376.9 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 23.1%, with a pre-tax NPV of US$1,783.1 million and IRR of 26.2%. The project's payback period is approximately 3.4 years from the start of production.
The White Pine North Project will be mined using a modified room-and-pillar method, accessing the deposit via an existing decline, and will have a steady-state production rate of 15,000 tonnes per day.