Nevada Copper (NCU.TO) has announced its production-sized shaft with a diameter of 24 feet has reached its targeted depth of 1900 feet. This is a bit later than originally anticipated but the completion of this shaft is well within the anticipated margin of error of a target date in the mining sector.
This 1900 level will be the main haulage level for the underground part of the Pumpkin Hollow project, and Nevada Copper will now start the lateral development at that depth. This lateral development should prepare the project for production as it will allow Nevada Copper to access the Eastern side of the ore body.
This is all good news, but what we’re really excited about is Nevada Copper’s upcoming drill program. As you might remember, the company suspended all drilling activities at the underground ore zone and decided it would postpone additional exploration expenditures until a shaft would have been completed. Now lateral development has begun, Nevada Copper will be in a position to build drill stations for underground drilling and a first 7,900 meter drill program is expected to start in April.
This drill program will be extremely important because of two reasons. First of all, we think the average grade of the underground ore zone might be higher than anticipated and higher than the resource estimate. Secondly, Nevada Copper is now in a position to target higher grade zones which could be prioritized towards production. NCU could be able to design a mine plan whereby higher grade ore will be mined first, and this could have a very positive impact on the expected payback period. 2015 will be filled with news on Nevada Copper and we are expecting some very positive catalysts this year.
> Click here to go to Nevada Copper’s website
Disclosure: The author holds a long position in Nevada Copper. NCU also is a sponsor of the website. Please see our disclaimer for current positions.
