True North Copper (TNC) has started mining operations at the Wallace North deposit, part of the Cloncurry Copper Project (CCP) in northwest Queensland. This marks an important milestone for the company, which is working to become one of Australia’s next big producers of copper and other critical metals.
The start of operations involved clearing the site and beginning blast hole drilling. TNC’s team is running the dry hire equipment on-site, and the recruitment of the operations team is nearly complete.
Meanwhile, dewatering of the pit area at Wallace North is already well advanced, with all blast hole drilling taking place in dry holes to ensure smoother operations. Bevan Jones, TNC’s newly appointed Managing Director, who took on the role in June 2023, is leading the company through this crucial stage.
He expressed his excitement about this significant achievement for the company. “We’ve now started mining operations at Wallace North, which means we’re on track to restart copper production at our Cloncurry Copper Project,” Jones said.
“This has been our main goal since we listed on the ASX in June, and I’m incredibly proud of our team for their hard work in getting us to this point.” The initial focus of the mining ramp-up at Wallace North will be to build up ore stockpiles, with road haulage expected to start within weeks.
The oxide ore extracted from the site will be transported to TNC’s Cloncurry operations hub, which will be processed through heap leaching. Meanwhile, the sulphide ore will be taken to a nearby concentrator for treatment under a toll-milling agreement with Glencore, a major global mining company.
According to Jones, the Cloncurry Copper Project is expected to generate around $200 million in free cash flow at current copper prices over its initial mine life of 4.6 years. This projection is based on existing JORC reserves, which estimate that the Wallace North deposit contains 0.7 million tonnes of ore, with a copper grade of 1.01% and a gold content of 0.46 grams per tonne.
In total, this would yield approximately 6,800 tonnes of copper and 10,000 ounces of gold. Jones emphasised that the cash flow generated from the project will be reinvested to explore more opportunities for expanding their resource base.
Wallace North is one of four open-pit deposits that make up the CCP, and there is potential for further growth through additional exploration. With operations underway and production soon to follow, True North Copper is positioning itself to play a significant role in Australia’s copper and critical metals industry.
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