CABAÇAL PROJECT
ADVANCED CABAÇAL COPPER-GOLD PROJECT
Preliminary Economic Assessment (Base Case After-Tax) – NPV5 USD 573 M & IRR 58.4%
Cabaçal deposit is a potential open-pit standalone project. Mineralization extends over ~ 2km and remains open with near mine satellite prospect
PFS Throughput Expansion & Potential High-Grade Deposit at Santa Helena
Meridian Mining is focused on the development and exploration of the advanced stage Cabaçal VMS gold‐copper project, and on regional scale exploration of the Cabaçal VMS belt in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Cabaçal is a gold‐copper‐silver rich VMS deposit with the potential to be a standalone mine within the 50km VMS belt.
Cabaçal’s base and precious metal‐rich mineralization is hosted by volcanogenic type, massive, semi‐massive, stringer, and disseminated sulphides. A later‐stage sub‐vertical gold overprint event has emplaced high‐grade gold mineralization cross‐cutting the VMS layers. The Cabaçal Mineral Resource estimate consists of Indicated resources of 52.9mt at 0.6g/t gold, 0.3% copper and 1.4g/t silver and Inferred resources of 10.3mt at 0.7g/t gold, 0.2% copper & 1.1g/t silver, including a higher‐grade near‐surface zone supporting a starter pit.
Cabaçal Cu-Au Mine
- Polymetallic VMS system Cu-Au + Ag-Zn-Pb
- Defined multiple thick shallow dipping zones of Copper-Gold plus Silver-Zinc-Lead mineralization
- Indicated Resource – 52.9Mt @ AuEq 1.1 g/t (Au 0.64 g/t / Cu 0.32% / Ag 1.4 g/t)
- Inferred Resource – 10.3Mt @ AuEq 1.1 g/t (Au 0.68 g/t / Cu 0.24% / Ag 0.96 g/t)
- Starter Pit ~ 3Mt @ 2.5 g/t AuEq
Cabaçal PEA
- Preliminary Economic Assessment (Base Case After-Tax) – NPV5 USD 573 M & IRR 58.4%
- Low Initial Capex – USD 180 M
- NPV5 to Capex Ratio – 3.2 X
- Payback After-Tax – 10.6 months
- AISC (Y1-5) – USD 671 / oz
Cabaçal PEA superior economics, driven by:
- High-grade starter pit
- Simple processing
- High metallurgical recoveries
- Low strip ratio Low-cost hydroelectric power
- Brazil’s low-cost operating environment
The Cabaçal and St Helena deposits and other known targets form part of a Paleoproterozoic VMS system in deformed metavolcanic-sedimentary rocks of the Alto Jauru Greenstone Belt.
The package consists of a bimodal sequence, similar to many major VMS districts. Cabaçal’s stacked mineralisation lenses with cumulative thicknesses up to 90 meters and are variably enriched in Cu-Au-Ag-Zn.
VMS camps like, Cabaçal, typically host a cluster of deposits, not uncommonly spaced at 4 to 6km intervals, making both near-mine and regional exploration targets attractive. The production history of the worlds VMS camps has been defined over decades, sometimes +100 years, with their near surface resources largely exhausted. Cabaçal presents the opportunity for Meridian to create value from this undeveloped VMS camp.
Mineral Resource estimates were generated by Simon Tear (PGEO), of H&S Consultants Pty Ltd, (“H&SC”) based in Brisbane, Qld, Australia. The effective date of the MRE for the Cabaçal Au-Cu-Ag deposit is the 21st of August 2022. The MRE reported in this section have been classified under the 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves.
The MRE are based on 848 historic and recent diamond core holes with logged geology and assays, totalling 87,268 m.
Grade interpolation used the Multiple Indicator Kriging (“MIK”) technique for gold used for reporting the Mineral Resources. Ordinary Kriging (“OK”) was used for the grade interpolation of the copper and silver composite values.
Overall average density of the deposit is 2.79 t/m³.
It is also assumed that the deposit will be mined by open pit method. The MRE have been reported using a 0.3 g/t gold equivalent (“AuEq”) cut-off grade, within the notional pit.
Gold equivalents are calculated as:
AuEq(g/t) = (Au(g/t) * %Recovery ) + (1.492*(Cu% * %Recovery)) + (0.013*(Ag(g/t) * %Recovery)), where:
• Au_recovery_ppm = 5.4368*ln(Au_Grade_ppm)+88.856
• Cu_recovery_pct = 2.0006*ln(Cu_Grade_pct)+94.686
• Ag_recovery_ppm = 13.342*ln(Ag_Grade_ppm)+71.037
Recoveries based on 2022 metallurgical testwork on core submitted to SGS Lakefield.
Gold price assumptions: USD1,650.00/oz; Silver USD21.35/oz; Copper USD3.59/lb (Metal prices used were derived from CIBC August 2022 long-term banking consensus).
Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
See latest Technical Report (Effective 1st March 2023) for additional information.
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