Serrote will produce an average of approximately 22,000tpa of copper equivalent over an initial 14-year mine life
Appian acquired the Serrote asset in mid-2018. (Credit: Łukasz Klepaczewski from Pixabay)
Mineração Vale Verde (MVV) and funding partner Appian Capital Advisory have announced the completion construction of the Serrote copper-gold project in Alagoas, Brazil.
Over an initial 14-year mine life, Serrote will produce an average of approximately 22,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of copper equivalent.
It will produce from a low-strip, open pit mine supplying a 4.1 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) processing plant.
During the initial life of mine, Serrote is expected to exploit a mineral reserve of 52.7 million tonnes grading 0.6% copper and 0.1 grams per tonne gold.
MVV targets to achieve first shipment of high grade copper-gold-silver concentrate from the mine in November 2021.
MVV & Appian Brazil CEO Paulo Castellari said: “This is a fantastic achievement for MVV, underlining the technical, operational and financing expertise of our talented team.
“Concluding construction in line with schedule and below budget once again demonstrates the success of Appian’s business model, and I am particularly proud of our leading safety record and ability to exceed expectations despite the pandemic.”
Following the completion of the mine construction, MVV will now focus on the transition to steady state operations and the ramp-up over the second half of 2021.
Headquartered in Belo Horizonte, MVV is the owner and operator of Serrote, an advanced stage open-pit copper-gold asset. In February, the company secured a $140m debt financing for the development of the Serrote copper-gold project.
After Appian acquired the asset in mid-2018, an updated definitive feasibility study (DFS) was completed for the mine.
The DFS outlined a 14-year initial mine life with production of approximately 24 thousand tonnes of copper equivalent per annum in a premium, high grade concentrate.
Castellari said: “In Serrote we have a high quality asset with low production costs, a long mine-life and significant upside from potential further expansion. Copper remains an incredibly attractive commodity and MVV is ideally placed to benefit from the growing global focus on electrification and decarbonisation.”