Sandfire Resources Limited has announced that it successfully produced its first copper concentrate at the Motheo Copper Mine in Botswana.
It added that equipment commissioning activities at the mine are over 92% complete for the initial 3.2 Mtpa processing capacity.
With an inaugural shipment scheduled for the middle of the year, the Motheo team will now focus on completing commissioning activities and ramping-up the processing plant to its initial 3.2 Mtpa processing capacity, which is expected to be achieved during the September quarter of fiscal 2024.
Additionally, the company said its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Motheo A4 Project has been approved by the Botswana Government’s Department of Environmental Affairs.
The approval of the ESIA is the result of an extensive public consultation process that included multiple stakeholders, including related communities.
The ESIA paves the way for the grant of the mining licence for the A4 pit as the last critical path item for the Motheo 5.2 Mtpa expansion, which will see contained copper production rates at Motheo increase to around 50 ktpa during fiscal 2025.
According to Sandfire Managing Director and CEO Brendan Harris, the milestones serve as tributes to the “excellent team” at Motheo.
“First concentrate production at our newest mine signals the start of our ramp-up towards the initial 3.2 Mtpa capacity, which we expect to achieve on a sustainable basis during the September quarter of fiscal 2024. With the approval of the A4 Project ESIA paving the way for the grant of the A4 pit mining licence, our attention now turns to the delivery of the rapid, low-cost expansion in capacity from 3.2 Mtpa to 5.2 Mtpa by early 2024,” Harris added.
He noted that the approval of the ESIA is the result of an extensive public consultation process that included stakeholders and related communities, demonstrating the momentum that Sandfire is building through positive interaction with stakeholders in the Ghanzi region.
