US Copper World Copper Mine Approved for US$2.07 Billion Development Investment

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 21, Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals and Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation jointly approved the final investment decision for the Copper World copper mine project in Arizona, USA, with a first-phase development investment of US$2.07 billion. The plan includes construction of open-pit mining facilities and a flotation plant with a processing capacity of 60,000 short tons of ore per day. The project is located approximately 50 kilometers southeast of Tucson and is expected to produce first copper in the second half of 2029, with average annual copper production of 102,000 tonnes over the first 10 years of operation. The two parties hold 70% and 30% interests in the project, respectively.

According to the final feasibility study published on October 21, the base development plan for the Copper World project covers a 15-year mine operating period, and the major state and local permits required for first-phase construction and operation have been obtained. The project plans to adopt open-pit mining and conventional flotation processes to produce copper concentrate and molybdenum concentrate, while recovering gold and silver as by-products. Proven and probable ore reserves total 390 million tonnes at an average copper grade of 0.47%.

Project construction will be implemented in phases. The first-phase investment is mainly for the open-pit mine, flotation plant and supporting infrastructure, and is planned to be completed within 36 months before commercial production. In the fourth year of mine operation, US$242 million is planned to be invested in an in-pit crushing and conveying system with a designed material handling capacity of 100,000 short tons per day; in the fifth year, US$443 million is planned to be invested to expand the flotation plant processing capacity to 90,000 short tons per day. After expansion, average annual copper production in the sixth to tenth years of the project is expected to reach 120,000 tonnes.

Under this final investment decision, Mitsubishi Corporation approved an additional equity contribution of up to US$423 million. Previously, the company had made a US$600 million investment arrangement to acquire a 30% interest in the project and assume development costs, of which US$420 million was for equity acquisition and US$180 million for subsequent development. With this additional contribution, Mitsubishi Corporation's cumulative expected investment in the project reaches US$1.02 billion.

The project financing plan also includes a US$230 million precious metals prepayment from Wheaton Precious Metals and approximately US$650 million in proposed project-level debt financing. Once the debt financing is in place, Mitsubishi Corporation's subsequent actual equity contributions may be reduced accordingly.

Hudbay Minerals has also completed a pre-feasibility study for a concentrate leaching facility, covering process options for future production of cathode copper at the mine site. This facility is not part of the confirmed scope of the first-phase construction. The mine also has a long-term development plan to expand onto federal land, with a planned extension of the operating period to 37 years, subject to subsequent federal permitting.