Project Overview
Owned and operated by Origin, a subsidiary of Waterton Copper LP, Mineral Park is a copper-molybdenum-silver mine that has had a long history of mining and is located in north-west Arizona, 18 miles north of Kingsman. The Mineral Park restart project, entails the refurbishment, upgrade, and restart of the existing Mineral Park copper and molybdenum mine and concentrating facility.
Mineral Park is a porphyry Cu-Mo deposit located in the Cerbat Mountains within the central portion of the Wallapai mining district in Arizona. Mineralization occurs in several styles and phases with early Cu, Mo, and Ag hypogene mineralization being the earliest phase consisting of both stockwork vein and disseminated. Polymetallic (Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag) subvertical, veins crosscut the early hypogene mineralization and consist of quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite-sphalerite-galena-acanthite-friebergite. Mineralization is overprinted by development of leached cap, oxide and supergene enrichment horizons.
The Mineral Park open pit mine is a brownfields operation that will benefit from pre-developed faces and ore exposure, eliminating the need for pre-stripping. The mine schedule extends for 12 years at an average mining rate of 53 kton/d.
The Mineral Park operation currently consists of an operating heap leach producing Cu cathode, and a Cu and Mo sulfide concentrator which is on care and maintenance. It is expected that heap leach activities will cease once the concentrator operation restarts. The restarted Mineral Park concentrator will utilize a conventional flowsheet to produce separate Cu and Mo concentrates.
Mineral Park is currently under Phase 2 construction which is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2025. Waterton Copper is fully funded and is investing approximately $600 million to execute Phase 2 of its operating plan, which will bring the site to over one hundred million pounds of copper equivalent annually and fully modernize the operation.
Stream Details
| Date of Contract |
24-Oct-23 |
| Term |
Life of Mine |
| Stream |
100% of silver |
| Upfront Consideration |
$115M |
| Per Unit Production Payment |
18% of spot until upfront deposit repaid, 22% of spot thereafter |