Johnson Camp Mine (JCM)
Excelsior, with Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto venture is in the process of restarting operations of the Johnson Camp open pits, incorporating sulfide leaching technology to improve recoveries. Under the Agreement, Excelsior remains the operator and Nuton funds Excelsior's costs associated with a two-stage work program at Johnson Camp.
The Stage 2 work program is anticipated to take up to five years and mining is expected to commence in year one with first copper produced from Nuton technology in 2025.
The completion of all milestones would result in full scale commercial production of Nuton copper over several years at Johnson Camp. Revenue from operations will first be used to pay back Stage 2 costs to Nuton and will then be credited to Excelsior's account after fulfillment of Excelsior's applicable royalty and stream obligations.
After the completion of Stage 2, Nuton will have the right to form a joint venture on Johnson Camp per mutually agreeable terms whereby Nuton will hold an initial 49% and Excelsior an initial 51% interest.
HIGHLIGHTS 2023 JCM PEA ($3.75 Cu price)
| Mine Life | 21 years |
| Mineralized Tons | 85.2 m tons |
| Total Cu grade | 0.37% |
| Average Total Cu Recovery* | 77% |
| Cu Produced | 492 m lbs |
| Total Tons Mined | 196 m tons |
| Initial Capital Leach Pad | $27.7 million |
| Initial Capital Crusher Refurbishment | $21.4 million |
| Initial Capital Mining | $9.8 million |
| Total Capital | $58.9 |
| Total Operating Cash Cost ($/lb Cu) | $1.95 |
| Total Cash Cost ($/lb Cu)** | $2.24 |
| After-Tax NPV/IRR (7.5% discount rate) | $180 million / 30.4% |
*Total copper recovery includes a combination of oxide, transition and primary sulfide mineral recoveries.
** Includes all operating costs, site G&A, royalties, non-income taxes, salvage, reclamation and closure.
*The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the conclusions reached in the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability
| Sensitivity Analysis | |||||
| Sensitivity | -20% | -10% | 0 | +10% | +20% |
| Cu Price | $3.00 | $3.375 | $3.75 | $4.125 | $4.50 |
| IRR After-Tax | 11.5% | 20.9% | 30.4% | 39.9% | 49.2% |
| NPV* After-Tax | $32 | $107 | $180 | $251 | $321 |
| *million $ at 7.5% discount rate |
|||||
Additional information about the JOHNSON CAMP HEAP LEACH PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT can be found in the technical report filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com entitled
