- Lara Exploration (TSXV:LRA) released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Planalto copper and gold project in Brazil
- The economic study estimates production of 1.2 billion pounds of copper and 111,000 ounces of gold over an 18-year mine life
- Lara Exploration is a mineral prospect and royalty generator with a diverse portfolio spanning Brazil, Peru and Chile
- The top-performing mining stock has added 87.68 per cent year-over-year and 227.85 per cent since 2020, well ahead of the iShares S&P/TSX Capped Materials Index ETF’s 63.81 per cent and 110.07 per cent efforts, respectively
Lara Exploration (TSXV:LRA) released a preliminary economic assessment for its Planalto copper and gold project in Brazil, estimating production of 1.2 billion pounds of copper and 111,000 ounces of gold over an 18-year mine life.
Planalto, located on private farmland between two major mining towns in Carajás, leverages excellent infrastructure into an after-tax net present value of US$378 million (discounted at 8 per cent), initial capital expenditures of US$546 million and a payback period of only 3.5 years.
Using base cases of US$9,500 per ton of copper and US$2,500 per ounce of gold, and average life-of-mine all-in sustaining costs of US$5,920/t copper, the project benefits from considerable leverage to current prices.
Planalto’s 2024 mineral resource estimate stands at 560 million pounds of copper indicated and 1.2 billion pounds inferred, representing more than US$8.8 billion in the ground.
Management commentary
“The Lara team has a track record of discovery and value creation for shareholders, and we are pleased to be able to demonstrate through this study that Planalto has the key technical and economic elements at a scoping level to become a mine,” Simon Ingram, chief executive officer of Lara Exploration, said in a statement. “Furthermore, new copper mines are hard to find and often challenging to permit and build. Planalto’s excellent local infrastructure and a positive state permitting environment will benefit Planalto as it moves through technical studies towards a potential production decision. The accelerating digitalization and energy transition megatrends are compounding increasing copper demand and improving the long-term fundamentals of the copper market, which are expected to further benefit Planalto and Lara.”
“The newly acquired Atlantica Exploration licence has historic drill intercepts with copper mineralization similar to that at Planalto, directly along strike to the Silica Cap PEA pit,” added Miles Thompson, Lara’s chairman. “Further exploration within the enlarged Planalto licence area has the opportunity for additional near-term discovery.”
About Lara Exploration
Lara Exploration is a mineral prospect and royalty generator with a diverse portfolio spanning Brazil, Peru and Chile.
Lara Exploration stock (TSXV:LRA) last traded at C$2.59. The stock has added 87.68 per cent year-over-year and 227.85 per cent since 2020, well ahead of the iShares S&P/TSX Capped Materials Index ETF’s 63.81 per cent and 110.07 per cent efforts, respectively.
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