It’s not every day a company stumbles upon one of the largest deposits of molybdenum, copper, silver, tungsten and rhenium, but Multi-Metal Development Ltd. (TSXV:MLY, OTC Pink:MLYCF, Forum) has done so thanks to its CuMo project located near Boise, Idaho. The company is the largest shareholder in International CuMo Mining Corporation, which owns 100% of the project which is being advanced towards feasibility with a goal of becoming one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost producers of molybdenum.
Multi-Metal Development, which recently changed its name from American CuMo, announced on May 16, that upon closing subsidiary financing that it had started working on the ore sorting studies that are part of the overall analysis that is needed for a pre feasibility study on the CuMo project.
By definition, ore sorting is a set of technologies that provides potential solutions to problems such as rising energy costs, falling ore body head grades and lower profit margins. Ore sorting helps to identify the metal values in a run-of-mine stream and then separates the material that contains the valuable mineralization from barren zones.
Ore sorting benefits for the CuMo project
In terms of long-term benefits, ore sorting can help contribute to a company’s goals, such as extending the life of mine, prolonging economic operations on the off chance there’s declining ore grade, or reducing the size of the processing plant for a new mine. Ore sorting is also energy effective, in that it reduces energy consumption per tonne of concentrate produce as well as the grinding of waste material and water and reagent consumption.
When it comes to Mult-Metal Development’s CuMo project, the company has initiated ore sorting studies that are part of an overall metallurgical analysis that is needed for a prefeasibility study. The work will first focus on how to optimize ore sorting techniques that will help determine ideal percentages of mined material to be sent to the mill for processing.
The company added that in its most recent 43-101 Independent Preliminary Economic Assessment report from June 2020 that roughly 72% of the material mined is intended to be sent for processing in a 150,000 ton per day mill.
In line with this, the ore sorting study will help optimize and reduce the amount of material that is processed in addition to reducing the size of the mill and corresponding Capex while also maintaining metal production. Based on preliminary test work and analysis, the company is targeting a reduction in the amount of material being processed to less than 30% of what is mined.
Work will initially focus on visually analyzing all holes that have been drilled to date in order to determine the percentages of material that could be processed, followed by physical scanning that uses a combination of various techniques for bulk and particle sorting that will confirm those percentages by actual grades.
In other words, by conducting ore sorting work, Multi-Metal Development is in a solid position to strengthen its operations, and notably, the CuMo project, which will help reduce the mill size and thus the capital cost of the processing component, the overall operating cost and improve the overall project economics. This when combined with the current increase in metal prices is generating interest in the project.
The CuMo project
With its ideal location in the heart of Idaho, the CuMo project is an open pit-accessible deposit currently in the preliminary economic assessment stage. At present, the project has a 28-year mine life while research has supported a sustainable project and identified mitigations that address a range of environmental conditions. These include tailings, waste dumps and small deposit footprints when compared to the area of existing disturbance.
The project also has two distinct layers of diversification: while the upper half contains higher grades of silver and copper compared to molybdenum, the lower half is quite rich in molybdenum and has lower grades of silver and copper.
The investment corner
When a company decides to follow through with conducting ore sorting, it only further solidifies that it is taking into consideration the environmental impact of mining operations.
With ESG (environmental, social and governance) at the forefront of everyone’s mind in the mining industry, ore sorting not only benefits the company’s long-term goals but also investors who are looking for an opportunity that is looking to improve waste handling and reduce emissions.
With Multi-Metal Development initiating ore sorting at its CuMo project, investors will want to hop on an investment opportunity that is a cut above the rest.
