109 0 Kommentare Marimaca Copper Project Development and Exploration Update

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marimaca Copper Corp. (“Marimaca Copper” or the “Company”) (TSX: MARI) is pleased to provide an update on development activities at the Marimaca Oxide Deposit (the “MOD”) led by Ausenco Chile (“Ausenco”), and exploration activities at the Sierra de Medina property block, located ~25km from the MOD. The Company has also commenced exploration trenches and surface sampling activities at the Mercedes satellite target (“Mercedes”), located approximately 1km north of the MOD.

Highlights

Permit engineering, led by Ausenco, informed by final baseline studies and updated project layout progressing to plan
- MOD project permitting submission remains on track for early Q3 2024
- Project layout is frozen, confirmed by condemnation drilling completed and announced Jan. 16, 2024 (see Figure 1)
The DFS development strategy optimization, led by Ausenco, is near completion
- Workstream intended to finalize optimal development strategy for the MOD, focusing on capital intensity and mine planning and targeting a scale-up from the 2020 Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”)
- DFS remains on track for completion in late Q4 2024
The Company is currently considering strategic options to progress immediately into detailed engineering of the MOD post-DFS in 2025
- 2024 work plan (permitting and DFS engineering) remains fully funded
Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) geo-metallurgical model in final phases of development with confirmatory metallurgical test-work program
- Expands on acid consumption and operability optimizations identified in Geomet 6 (see release dated Nov. 6, 2023)
- To date, four 4m height x 1m diameter column tests each stacked with 1,400 kg of green oxide material completed to generate raffinate for final column test program:
  - Four 4m height columns to finalize optimal crush size for green oxide mineral zones
  - Four 4m height columns to finalize optimal irrigation rate for green oxide mineral zones
  - Four 4m height columns confirming optimal parameters set in previous columns for green oxide mineral zones
  - Fourteen 1m height columns confirming optimal leaching parameters for mixed and enriched mineral zones
In the parallel regional exploration track, geophysics work is underway at the Sierra de Medina property block, located 25km from the MOD (see press release dated Feb. 27, 2024) (see Figure 2)
- Initial work includes, UAV topography, Resistivity CS-NSAMT and high-resolution mag-drone surveys at key conceptual targets
- Geophysics work will be considered and integrated into potential future discovery drilling campaigns.
Additionally, initial exploration trenching and surface sampling at the Mercedes East satellite target, located ~1km north of the MOD, has been initiated (see Figure 3)