Canada's Magna Mining Approves Restart of Levack Copper Mine, Plans Production by 2028

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 8, Canadian mining company Magna Mining released the preliminary economic assessment results for the Levack copper-nickel mine in the Sudbury Basin, Ontario, and formally approved the mine restart plan. The project is expected to require initial capital expenditure of CAD 70.1 million, with commercial production planned to commence in mid-2028. The designed commercial production period is 7.3 years, with average annual saleable copper-equivalent production of approximately 36.8 million pounds (approximately 16,700 tonnes).

The Levack mine is located in the northern part of the Sudbury Basin and is a formerly producing underground copper-nickel and precious metals mine. The preliminary economic assessment was prepared by AGP Mining Consultants and plans for total underground mining of approximately 5.75 million short tons, with a target daily mining rate of approximately 2,200 short tons. The mining targets include the footwall copper mineralization zone, the contact zone nickel-copper mineralization zone, and the Morrison footwall copper-platinum group metals deposit, with an average mill feed copper-equivalent grade of approximately 3.42%.

Under the base price scenario, the mine is estimated to produce average annual saleable copper production of approximately 12.9 million pounds, nickel production of approximately 10.9 million pounds, and combined platinum, palladium, and gold of approximately 21,400 troy ounces. The all-in sustaining cost per copper-equivalent pound is estimated at USD 3.71 per pound. Sustaining capital expenditure during the mine's commercial production period is estimated at CAD 168 million.

The project's initial investment plan covers the period from January 2027 to June 2028, including underground drift development, shaft hoisting system rehabilitation, loading pocket modification, ventilation, dewatering, and mining equipment configuration. This includes CAD 12.6 million in contingency. Magna Mining plans to utilize the mine's existing underground infrastructure to accelerate the restoration of the production hoist, underground haulage, and stope access, and to increase underground development and surface construction activities in the coming months.

In the financing assessment, the company expects to receive approximately CAD 5.6 million in refundable tax credits and to generate approximately CAD 55.9 million in operating cash flow prior to formal commercial production. Based on the preliminary economic assessment methodology, after deducting the above projected cash flow and tax credits, the net initial funding requirement is approximately CAD 8.6 million. Under the base price scenario, the project's after-tax net present value (7% discount rate) is approximately CAD 227 million, the after-tax internal rate of return is 92.4%, and the payback period is approximately 0.6 years.