caravel copper project
OVERVIEW
Caravel Minerals Limited (ASX: CVV) is developing the Caravel Copper Project, located within a world-class, 30km mineralised copper porphyry system just 150km northeast of Perth in Western Australia. The Project has a Mineral Resource Estimate of 2.8 million tonnes of contained copper and an Ore Reserve of 1.4 million tonnes, making it Australia’s largest undeveloped copper deposit and the fourth-largest copper discovery worldwide in the last decade.
TENEMENTS AND FEATURE LOCATIONS
PROJECT FEATURES
OPERATING STRUCTURE Owner-miner
TENEMENTS E70/2788, E70/3674, E70/3680, R70/0063, MLA70/1410, MLA70/1411, GPLA70/262, GPLA70/263
MINERALISATION Porphyry-style chalcopyrite sulphide mineralisation associated with foliated granitic gneiss
ORE RESERVE 583.4Mt at 0.24% copper
RECOVERY ~89% Cu and ~60% Mo
MINERAL RESOURCES 1.18 Billion tonnes @ 0.24% Cu and 48ppm Mo for 2.84Mt of contained copper 0.1% Cu cut-off
MINING METHOD Conventional open-pit using electrified and automated technologies including diesel-electric haul trucks and electric drills and shovels
PROCESSING CAPACITY 30Mtpa throughput
PROCESSING FLOWSHEET Primary and secondary crushing,high-pressure grinding (HGPR) and ball mill followed by conventional rougher, cleaning flotation, thickening and filtering with the inclusion of a molybdenum recovery circuit
PRODUCTION
~71,000tpa copper-in-concentrate (years 1–5)
~65,000tpa copper-in-concentrate (steady state)
~900tpa molybdenum-in-concentrate
POWER Existing access to grid power from WA State (SWIS) grid with a renewable energy mix
WATER Borefield ~60km west with an associated pipeline
EXPORT Concentrate trucked by public road ~340km to Bunbury Port or ~400km to Geraldton Port
Contents
MINING OPERATIONS
The Project is based on a conventional open-pit, owner-operated bulk mining operation with a very low strip ratio (1.3:1). Combined with the Project’s locational advantages of grid power, fibre-optic communications and the latest automation technologies, mining will be at a low cost over the long life of the Project.
Remote Operating Centre
GRID POWER CONNECTION
COMMUNICATIONS
ADVANCED SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY
SHOVEL AND BACKHOE
HAULAGE
DRILL AND BLAST
ADVANCED SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY
CRUSHING COMMINUTION AND PROCESSING PLANT
TRANSPORT
MAINTENANCE
- SHOVEL AND BACKHOE Electric shovels. Blast fragmentation modelling. Bucket teeth monitoring. Autonomous cable management. Load-assist technology.
- HAULAGE Autonomous trucks with diesel electric and trolley assist. Future battery truck trolley line charging. Fuel agnostic future solutions (hydrogen and ammonia).
- ADVANCED SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY Long range laser scanner, 24 hour drone CCTV with real-time pit wall and TMF monitoring, asset and environmental surveys, safety and mechanical field inspections.
- CRUSHING COMMINUTION AND PROCESSING Plant operations include automation. Integration with ROC. Real-time ore performance management. Power optimisation via equipment utilisation.
- MAINTENANCE Data analytics and predictive maintenance with OEMs. Proximity to Perth consignment parts and components. Digital inspection. Asset life maximisation and cost reductions.
- TRANSPORT Electric light vehicle. Potential for electric road train haulage to port. Nearest port ~340km.
- ROC Continuously control, monitor and optimise operations. Offers more attractive work options and flexibility.
- GRID POWER CONNECTION Renewable energy mix.
- COMMUNICATIONS Existing fibre optic cable. WiFi mesh. Mobile and direct fibre connection.
Caravel Copper Project Flythrough
View a 3D model of the Caravel Copper Project geology, mineralisation, pit designs, project infrastructure layout including pipeline and borefield locations
PROCESSING PLANT
The Caravel Copper Project processing plant is a conventional design suitable for treating porphyry-style copper ores. The selection of the largest proven process equipment, including High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR), achieves reduced energy consumption and the most efficient use of capital at the lowest unit operating cost. The inclusion of a Molybdenum Recovery Circuit captures the full value of the resource by recovering a by-product from the main copper production stream.
TRANSPORT AND PORT Located adjacent to existing road infrastructure for direct product delivery to public access ports.
WATER A remote borefield extracting saline water has been designed and is progressing through the regulatory approvals process.
POWER Connection to the adjacent electricity grid to achieve the lowest possible operating costs and emission savings.
ACCOMMODATION modern accommodation village that aims to make a positive contribution to employees and the local area.
ROM PAD
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CRUSHERS
SECONDARY CRUSHED ORE
HIGH PRESSURE GRINDING ROLLS
BALL MILLS
COPPER BENEFICATION CIRCUIT
ROUGHER CONCENTRATE REGRIND
CLEANER FLOTATION
MOLYBDENUM RECOVERY CIRCUIT
CONCENTRATE THICKENER
TAILINGS THICKENER
- RUN OF MINE (ROM) PAD Ore from the mine pit is stockpiled before being processed.
- PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CRUSHERS Run-of-mine ore is crushed in two stages using a single primary gyratory crusher followed by two secondary cone crushers to reduce the size to less than 45mm material.
- SECONDARY CRUSHED ORE Stockpiled secondary crushed ore.
- HIGH PRESSURE GRINDING ROLLS Fine crushing of the ore between two rolls at pressure to achieve particle size of less than 8mm.
- BALL MILLS Two large rotating mills filled with steel ball media providing the final size reduction to less than 0.18mm prior to beneficiation.
- COPPER BENEFICATION (Roughing) CIRCUIT Six cells mixing ground ore, water, air and reagents to float the copper mineral to the surface to overflow and be collected.
- ROUGHER CONCENTRATE REGRIND Grinding to liberate additional copper minerals from the concentrate.
- CLEANER FLOTATION Three stages of cleaner flotation to produce a final 25% Cu concentrate and reject gangue minerals.
- MOLYBDENUM RECOVERY CIRCUIT Separates molybdenum from the copper concentrate using five stages of flotation to produce a 50% Mo by-product to the copper concentrate.
- CONCENTRATE THICKENER Both concentrates are thickened and filtered prior to transport by road to port.
- TAILINGS THICKENER Rougher and cleaner flotation tailings are thickened and pumped to a Tailings Management Facility.