Nevsun’s 60% owned subsidiary Bisha Mining Share Company (BMSC) operates the mine, which is a large, high-grade volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit located 150km west of Asmara.
BMSC is planning to produce between 180 million to 200 million pounds of copper in 2014 through processing of about 2,100,000 tonnes of ore from Bisha Main pit averaging about 4.6% copper feed grade.
Nevsun said with such high grade ore, the C1 cash cost of producing a tonne of concentrate will be in the lowest quartile worldwide.
The copper will be contained in about 280,000 tonnes of concentrate, at around 30% copper grade based on the mine plan.
The company also said it has considerable additional value held in stockpiles to be monetized, which includes 6,500 tonnes of precious metals concentrate featuring about 7,000 ounces of gold with high silver content.
Nevsun Resources CEO Cliff Davis said following the company’s transition to copper production in 2013, it looks forward to strong free cash flow and earnings from Bisha in 2014.
"For growth, we will continue to expand Bisha resources through generative exploration programs in 2014 and to actively evaluate potential acquisition opportunities," Davis added.
