12th Sep 2014 07:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - Chile-focused Herencia Resources PLC Friday said it has entered into a memorandum of understanding regarding the negotiation of a toll treatment agreement for the Picachos copper project and said initial test results at the site indicate the potential for an underlying porphyry system at depth.
Herencia said the owners of the Tambillos Processing Plant, located 10 kilometres from the Picachos project, have confirmed the capacity of the plant to treat up to one million tonnes per year mined from the Picachos site.
Negotiations to finalise a term sheet for the toll treatment arrangement are due to start immediately, Herencia said, with a likely initial term of the agreement of three to five years.
In addition, Herencia said a geological field mapping programme undertaken at Picachos identified anomalous igneous rocks with potassic alteration and porphyritic texture in which copper anomalism was confirmed using the XRF handheld analyser.
Results from the thin sections has confirmed the majority of the dacite porphyry showed slight to moderate potassic alteration, indicating the potential for an underlying porphyry system at depth.
"The ability to commence mining and treatment at Picachos in a very short time-frame and without the need to build a processing plant or tailings dam has numerous advantages to the company, including minimising up front capital requirements, low construction and commissioning risk when building any treatment plant, simpler permitting, less rehabilitation and importantly, time saving allowing a possible start date for a commercial operation as early as the the second half of 2015, subject to certain project milestones," said Herencia Managing Director Graham Sloan.
Herencia shares were trading 5.8% higher at 0.4285 pence per share on Friday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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