Anax (ASX:ANX) add major upside to Whim Creek
September 11, 2023Anax Metals‘ scoping study over its fully permitted heap leach facility at Whim Creek has shown the potential for low-cost production of copper cathode and zinc sulphate products, offering a cashflow increase of more than 20 per cent to over $410 million and a major step forward to becoming the processing hub for the West Australian Pilbara.
Bioleaching of the in-demand products is on top of sulphide concentrate production detailed in an April DFS over the project and offers around $70 million in free cash from an enhanced product suite, with potential to build production up to 10 kilotonnes a year of both copper and zinc.
It builds Whim Creek’s Net Present Value to $270 million against a preproduction Capex standing still at $71 million.
Anax Managing Director Geoff Laing said the company’s world class bioleaching IP had unlocked Whim Creek’s value and provided the platform to become the dominant player in consolidating base metal projects in the Pilbara.
“The capacity to treat primary ores and secondary/oxidised ores allows us to deliver treatment options for all the base metal projects in our region. We will produce a suite of battery metal products along with a key feedstock for the production of fertiliser through a facility that will generate low carbon emissions,” Mr Laing said.
Forward plan
Large column leach testing on middlings from the project’s Mons Cupri prospect are underway at CSIRO, and Anax have already received interest from other players in the region to use Whim Creek for processing.
Off-take talks are also underway surrounding both concentrates and heap leach products set to be produced at the project, setting up the company as a first-mover independent Pilbara producer, with its own 4.6 Mt at 1.36% Cu, 2.30% Zn and 0.68% Pb ore reserves accounting for less than 42 per cent of an 11 Mt Mineral Resource.
The underground resources at the Evelyn and Salt Creek prospects remain open at depth, and Anax have lithium potential to explore at adjacent prospects after encountering extensive pegmatite swarms near an Andover discovery which could become the largest lithium deposit in Australia.
Project location map
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