AIC Mines Increases Jericho Ore Reserves
THE DRILL SERGEANT: AIC Mines (ASX: A1M) reported an updated Ore Reserve estimate for the company’s 100 per cent-owned Jericho copper deposit in north Queensland.
The Jericho deposit is located just four kilometres south of the company’s Eloise copper mine.
AIC Mines explained the Jericho Ore Reserves increased thanks to the inclusion of results from a drilling program undertaken in 2023 and updated mine designs.
Jericho Ore Reserves now total 3.2 million tonnes at 1.9 per cent copper and 0.4 grams per tonne silver containing 61,100 tonnes of copper and 37,000 ounces of gold.
The update represents an 86 per cent increase in contained copper and an 86 per cent increase in contained gold.
AIC anticipates ongoing drilling to further increase Jericho Ore Reserves.
“We completed the acquisition of Jericho in January last year,” AIC Mines managing director Aaron Colleran said in the company’s ASX announcement.
“We’ve barely owned the deposit for 12 months and in this time we have significantly increased the Jericho Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve, completed mining studies, environmental studies, metallurgical testwork plus an Eloise expansion study.
“It has been an incredibly busy and incredibly successful period for AIC Mines.
“Why are we pushing so hard, moving so quickly? Simple, Jericho is a game changer for Eloise.
“It provides a pathway to expanding annual production at Eloise to over 20,000 tonnes of copper and 10,000 ounces of gold in concentrate.
“Mining at Jericho will be lower cost than Eloise as it is much shallower, commencing below only 50 metres of cover.
“Expansion of the Eloise processing plant will reduce operating costs through economies of scale and smarter equipment.
“Jericho de-risks production by increasing the number of available ore sources.
“The world needs more copper as we transition away from fossil fuels. We are focused on delivering into that demand.”
TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE