Azure Minerals predicts Mexican copper-gold production by 2015

CONFERENCE CALLER: Australia’s Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) says it will commence a mining study in the second half of this year with the intention of commencing first mining by 2015 at the company’s advanced and high-grade Promontorio copper gold project in Mexico.

Addressing the first day of the Paydirt 2013 Latin America Down Under resources conference in Sydney, Azure Minerals managing director Tony Rovira, said the completion of a positive scoping study had underpinned Promontorio’s potential to be a near-term producer.

 

Azure Minerals managing director Tony Rovira.

 

“Our focus is on developing the deposit so that we can become a copper-gold producer in Mexico – a province we regard as mineral rich and mineral friendly,” Rovira said.

“Mexico’s mining jurisdiction is important to us. It is the world’s fourth most favoured country for mineral exploration, has a simple, transparent mining legislation.

“It also has more than 300 mining companies operating in Mexico and that is the perfect environment for us as an Australian developer to bring a new copper gold mine into production.”

Located in central Mexico, Promontorio has a total JORC Indicated and Inferred resource of 840,000 tonnes at a grade of 4.1 per cent of copper equivalent.

“This is a ‘high confidence’ resource for us as 75 per cent of the mineralisation is already in the Indicated category and contained totally to date within two specific veins,” Rovira said.

“Our forward plan now is to commence a mining study and ore reserve work in the second half of 2013.

“We also plan to develop the exploration potential of the high grade copper zone at the Cascada prospect just 200 metres northwest of Promontorio but which we believe has strong potential to be a second major copper contributor to the project.”

A drilling program has already commenced on Cascada.