Marimaca Copper President CEO Hayden Locke Invest in Mining: Demystifying Copper Oxides vs Sulfides

Summary

この動画では、マリメッカのCEOであるヘイデン・ロックが、酸化物と硫化物の違いについて解説します。酸化物は表面近くにあり、酸で溶解して効率的に銅を回収できる一方、硫化物は地下にあり、異なる処理が必要です。マリメッカでは酸化物の開発を中心に進めていますが、地質調査の結果、硫化物も発見されています。酸化物と硫化物の処理の違い、酸の供給源、そして各プロジェクトの経済性についても触れられています。

Takeaways

• 🌍 マリマカのCEO、ヘイデン・ロックが登場し、銅鉱石の酸化物と硫化物の違いについて説明しています。
• 🔬 銅鉱床は元々硫化物として存在し、地表水と空気に曝されることで酸化物に変わります。
• 🌋 酸化物は地表または地表付近に存在し、酸で溶解して銅イオンを溶液に溶かすことができます。
• ⚙️ 硫化物は溶解せず、細かく粉砕して硫化物鉱物を分離する必要があります。
• 🔧 酸化銅プロジェクトでは、最終的に高純度の銅カソードを生産しますが、硫化銅プロジェクトでは濃縮物を製錬所に送ります。
• ⛏️ 酸化物鉱床は数百メートルの深さまで広がることがあり、大規模な鉱床も存在します。
• 📏 マリマカでは、500メートルの連続した鉱化帯が見つかり、これは異常なケースです。
• 🔄 酸化物プロジェクトは小規模でも成立することがあり、経済的な閾値が硫化物プロジェクトより低い場合があります。
• 🌡️ 酸化銅プロジェクトのキャピタルコストは硫化銅プロジェクトよりも低く、運用コストも一般的に低いです。
• 🚛 硫化物プロジェクトでは、濃縮物をパイプラインで輸送することがあり、これは大規模な運搬システムよりもコスト効率が高いです。

Q & A

ハイデンが言及した「大きなパートナーシップ」とは何ですか？

ハイデンは大きなパートナーシップについて触れましたが、スクリプトには具体的な情報は記載されていません。

オキシドと硫化物の鉱山の違いは何ですか？

オキシド鉱物は地表または近接部に発生する傾向があり、酸または弱酸で溶けることができます。一方、硫化物は溶けず、別の方法で処理する必要があります。

ハイデンはオキシド鉱山と硫化物鉱山のどちらを対象としていますか？

ハイデンはマリマカ社がオキシド開発を対象としており、特定の深いドリルホールでは硫化物も発見される可能性があると述べています。

オキシド鉱山と硫化物鉱山の処理の違いは何ですか？

オキシド鉱山は酸または弱酸で溶解され、銅イオンが溶液に入るため、回収が非常に効率的です。硫化物鉱山は溶解しないため、別の方法で処理する必要があります。

ハイデンが言及した「チャンクサイト」とは何ですか？

チャンクサイトは二次硫化物で、鉱物が天候変化によって形成されるもので、銅の含有量が非常に高いと言えます。

マリマカの鉱山開発の特徴は何ですか？

マリマカはオキシド鉱物を開発しており、希少なケースで500メートルの連続した鉱物化された岩の層を有しているとハイデンは述べています。

オキシド鉱山の潜在的な問題とは何ですか？

オキシド鉱山は地表近くにあり、その結果、体積が小さく、生産量が限られる傾向があります。

鉱山開発における「スケールの経済性」とは何を意味しますか？

スケールの経済性とは、固定費用を吸収するためには規模の大きなプロジェクトが望ましいという考え方を指します。

ハイデンは鉱山開発の何が最も魅力的だと述べていますか？

ハイデンはオキシド鉱山開発において、CAPEX（資本支出）が低いと述べており、これはプロジェクトの持続可能性に寄与すると指摘しています。

ハイデンが言及した「SXCW」とは何ですか？

SXCWとは溶接抽出（Solvent Extraction and Electrowinning）を意味し、銅イオンを有机材料によって吸着させ、電気を通して銅を収集するプロセスです。

鉱山開発における「フロート回路」とは何を意味しますか？

フロート回路は硫化物鉱山の処理において使用され、鉱物を浮遊させて分離するプロセスを指します。

ハイデンは鉱山開発における「集中パイプライン」についてどう述べていますか？

ハイデンはチリにおける鉱山開発では、集中パイプラインを使用して鉱物を効率的に輸送することができると述べています。

ハイデンが言及した「鉱山開発のリスク」とは何ですか？

ハイデンは鉱山開発におけるリスクとして、鉱物のメタルロジー試験、理解の不十分、および変動性に対する理解の不足を指摘しています。

鉱山開発における「資本強度」とは何を意味しますか？

資本強度は、銅生産トンあたりの総資本コストを意味しており、オキシド鉱山は硫化物鉱山よりも低いとハイデンは述べています。

Outlines

00:00

😀 銅の氧化物と硫化物の基本比較

この段落では、銅の氧化物と硫化物の違いについて基本的な説明がされています。氧化物は地表または近接する場所に発生し、通常は酸または弱酸性で溶け出し、銅イオンが溶液に入ることで効率的に回収されます。一方、硫化物は溶け出しにくいため、別の方法で処理され、濃縮物を生産する必要があります。また、硫化物と氧化物の最終製品の違いについても触れられており、硫化物は濃縮物を生産するのに対して、氧化物は非常に純粋な銅カソードを生成することが挙げられます。

05:03

😉 銅の氧化物鉱床の特徴と開発戦略

第2段落では、銅の氧化物鉱床の特徴と開発に関する戦略について語られています。氧化物鉱床は大きな寸法を持つことがあるが、生産量は硫化物の鉱床に比べて小さい傾向があります。開発の際には、氧化物鉱床の寸法、生産量、および回復率を考慮し、独立したプロジェクトとして開発するかどうか、または硫化物開発の前段階として氧化物を積み立てるかの判断が重要です。また、鉱床の形成過程における地質学的要因も説明されています。

10:04

🎯 氧化物鉱山のCAPEXとOPEXの比較

この段落では、氧化物鉱山と硫化物鉱山のCAPEX（資本支出）とOPEX（運営費用）の比較が行われています。氧化物鉱山では、鉱石を粉砕する必要がなく、酸を使って溶かすことで簡易的な処理が可能であるため、CAPEXが低く抑えられます。硫化物鉱山では、鉱石をさらに細かく粉砕し、浮遊選別プロセスを必要とするため、より大きなCAPEXとOPEXが発生します。また、電力消費量の違いも触れられており、硫化物の処理はエネルギー消費が非常に多いことが強調されています。

15:05

🌟 銅の溶出抽出（SX-EW）プロセスの詳細

第4段落では、銅の溶出抽出プロセスについて詳しく説明されています。溶出抽出は、銅イオンが含まれる溶液を有机材料と結合させ、電気を通じて銅を収集するプロセスです。このプロセスには、酸の使用が不可欠であり、特に硫酸が最も一般的に使用されています。酸は肥料産業や鉱山からの排出物から供給される傾向がありますが、酸の供給源は地域によって異なります。また、鉱山の規模に応じて、独自の酸製造プラントを持つ場合もあります。

20:06

🚀 銅濃縮物の運搬と鉱山開発の経済要因

最後の段落では、銅濃縮物の運搬方法と鉱山開発における経済要因について語られています。チリでは、濃縮物をスルリーパイプラインで輸送することで、輸送コストを大幅に削減できます。また、氧化物鉱山と硫化物鉱山の経済的閾値についても議論されており、氧化物鉱山ではスケールが小さい場合でも低い品位で開発が可能であることが示されていますが、回復率や供給コストなどの要因も重要です。さらに、硫化物鉱山では副産物のクレジットが得られることが多いため、開発の経済性は高くなることが指摘されています。

Keywords

💡氧化物

氧化物は、金属と酸化合してできた化合物で、銅の採掘においては重要な存在です。ビデオでは、銅の氧化物鉱床が地表または近接部に発生し、酸化物種が溶ける性質を持ち、酸や弱酸で溶かして銅イオンを回収するというプロセスが説明されています。例えば、「oxide copper species many of the oxide copper species, not all of them are what we call, leachable」というフレーズがその性質を示しています。

💡硫化物

硫化物は、金属と硫黄が化合物を形成したもので、銅の採掘においても重要な役割を果たします。ビデオでは硫化物鉱床が酸化物より深層部にあり、浮遊選別プロセスを経て精鉱石を生産するという点が強調されています。例えば、「the sulfide process they don't Leach, and therefore you have to treat that all, differently」という台詞が硫化物の処理方法を説明しています。

💡銅精錬

銅精錬とは、鉱石から銅を精製するプロセスを指します。ビデオでは、硫化物鉱床の精鉱石がスメルターに送られ、高温で様々な製品へと変えられるプロセスが説明されています。また、「grade A copper cathode」という用語が登場し、非常に純粋な銅の形態として精製された銅を意味しています。

💡鉱石の酸化

鉱石の酸化は、鉱床が地表水などの影響を受けて化学的変化を起こるプロセスです。ビデオでは、銅の硫化物鉱床が酸化することで氧化物に変わり、その過程が鉱床の価値に影響を与えると説明されています。例えば、「the copper mineralization for deposits always starts as a primary sulfide mineralization」というフレーズが酸化の始まりを示しています。

💡ヒープレキシング

ヒープレキシングは、銅の氧化物鉱床の鉱石を酸で溶解させ、銅イオンを抽出する技術です。ビデオではヒープレキシングプロセスが効率的であり、酸化鉱物種を回收する際に用いられると説明されています。例えば、「they can be dissolved in acid or weak acid」というフレーズがその方法を示しています。

💡浮遊選別

浮遊選別は、鉱石から有用な成分を分離するプロセスで、硫化物鉱床の処理に用いられます。ビデオでは硫化物鉱物が細かく砕かれてから浮遊選別され、硫化物と他の鉱物を分離するプロセスが説明されています。例えば、「you have to grind it up Liberate the sulfide mineral and then, separate that sulfide mineral away from the the other minerals」というフレーズがそのプロセスを示しています。

💡銅の純度

銅の純度は、銅の製品の品質を決める重要な要素です。ビデオでは氧化物鉱床から得られる銅が非常に純粋であると強調され、「grade A copper cathode」という用語がその純度を示しています。

💡鉱床の形成

鉱床の形成は、地球の自然現象によって鉱物が蓄積されるプロセスです。ビデオでは銅鉱床がどのように形成されるかについて触れており、特に「チャンクサイト」と呼ばれる硫化物がその過程で重要な役割を果たしていると説明されています。例えば、「the original chalcopyrite can be, um, um weathered through those meteoro and, oxidizing Waters but it can, re-precipitate as a a different kind of, sulfide called chunkacite」というフレーズがその過程を示しています。

💡スメルター

スメルターは、鉱石を熱処理し金属を抽出するための施設です。ビデオでは硫化物の精鉱石がスメルターに送られ、様々な製品へと変えられるプロセスが説明されています。

💡鉱床の評価

鉱床の評価とは、鉱床の潜在的な価値を判断するプロセスです。ビデオでは氧化物鉱床と硫化物鉱床のそれぞれが異なる経済的閾値を持つと説明されており、その違いについても議論されています。例えば、「oxide projects can be much smaller」というフレーズが氧化物鉱床の規模に関する評価基準を示しています。

Highlights

Hayden, CEO of Mary Mecca, discusses a big partnership and exciting times for the company.

Basic primer on the difference between oxides and sulfides in the copper space.

Oxides occur at the surface or near the surface, while sulfides are the primary copper mineralization.

Oxide copper species are often leachable, making the recovery process more efficient.

Sulfide processing requires grinding and separation to produce a concentrate.

Mary Mecca is targeting oxide development and has encountered sulfides in deeper drill holes.

Chalcocite, a secondary sulfide, can also be leached and has a higher copper content.

Oxide deposits can be large and are influenced by factors like fracture permeability and weathering.

Marimaka's unusual 500-meter continuous column of mineralized rock is discussed.

The oxidation profile of Marimaka is attributed to pervasive fracturing and regional shear forces.

Oxide deposits are generally smaller in volume but can be significant in tonnage.

Decision-making process for oxide standalone projects, phases, or stockpiling is explained.

Global copper production is predominantly from sulfide deposits.

Key differences in capital expenditure (CAPEX) between sulfide and oxide operations are outlined.

Sulfide operations require more extensive equipment and higher power consumption.

The use of sulfuric acid in the SX-EW (solvent extraction-electrowinning) process is discussed.

Sources of sulfuric acid for the SX-EW process include smelters and sulfur burners.

Economic thresholds and considerations for oxide versus sulfide projects are compared.

The potential for lower grade oxide projects to be viable with good recoveries and manageable strip ratios.

Sulfide projects often have lower unit costs due to scale and by-product credits, such as gold.

Oxide projects are a pure play on copper, without the recovery of gold or silver.

Transcripts

[Music]

hello and welcome to another copper show

I'm delighted to say I've got Hayden

lock the CEO of Mary Mecca with me again

today

um Hayden how are you I'm really well

thanks Mel yeah all going along really

well announced a big partnership and

exciting times in the miramaka house

good good good good well we'll get into

that a bit because what I really want to

talk about today is just to kind of give

a basic primer to the audience on the

difference between oxides and sulfides

in the the copper space

um and uh at marimaka you've you've

effectively been targeting the oxide

development and you hit some uh in some

deeper the drill holes in your Geotech

holes you can hit some sulfides

um let's just kind of in in general

terms

um

tell me a little bit about the

difference between an oxide and a

sulfide please

um well look geologically the the copper

mineralization for deposits always

starts as a primary Soul side

neuralization you know that is how it's

in place and what we find is as as

meteoric World surface water from the

surface and exploit it to air

um hits those minerals it turns it into

and transforms itself

pause it

um so that's the most basic premise

typically what you find is oxides occur

at the surface or near the surface or

near river surface it doesn't always

have to be right at the surface it can

be undercover as you see any very large

deposits like us India but in general

they tend to be closer to the surface

and they're there for more typically it

um the biggest difference though uh

between these these two minerals is how

they're processed and what you

eventually do with that so oxide copper

species many of the oxide copper species

not all of them are what we call

leachable so they can be dissolved in

acid or weak acid uh and and the copper

ions go into solution and then the

recovery is was very efficient to the

recovery

sulfide process

because on the sulfide process they

don't Leach

and therefore you have to treat that all

differently you have to grind it up uh

Liberate the sulfide mineral and then

separate that sulfide mineral away from

the the other minerals which aren't

sulfides to produce typically a

concentrate

and and the other key difference and

you're exactly right I was you know you

go into lots of detail about the

differences

the other difference is at the end of

our process we are producing what's

called a grade A copper cathode that's

very pure ethereal what is produced at

the end of a sulfide or you know I write

mine that uses this concentration is a

concentrate which is then shipped to the

smelter which is then you know the very

high temperatures turned into various

stages of product before it gets to the

final available

you used um the word chunkacite in there

which can go uh both ways it can be it

it's a so it Chuckles it's this funny

mineral which

um

is is a secondary sulfide so the

original

chalcopyrite can be

um

um weathered through those meteoro and

oxidizing Waters but it can

re-precipitate as a a different kind of

sulfide called chunkacite which is cus

and so the the copper content on it is

much higher

um and but that can also be leached as

well so I mean what you also like in an

oxide deposit is when you have this um

this enriched cap

um

yeah we do Indian Rich design at the

bottom uh in that area where we're

getting to the depths where uh we're

approaching that salsa Horizon uh we

have pretty prevalent chalk Assad and

kogalite so both leechable secondary

sulfide materials

um they do have a longer leech cycle and

as a result in our assumptions super

much lower uh recovery rate for those

but yes they do in reach in given this

quantity in scale and the Packer that's

mixed it upside so we didn't propose to

slide that rather

and just coming back to your point about

them being close to surface so

effectively when you've got a mineral

deposit which has been uh in place a

copper deposit which is in place and

then weathered over a long period of

time you can get it

um the oxides forming down several

hundred meters currently I mean where

there's a good fracture permeability you

can get these oxidizing Waters down to

um I mean as I said a few hundred meters

and then of course it can be covered by

later gravels or a later Ash Fall if

you're in a volcanic region but um the

oxide bodies can be quite large can they

not

absolutely on the top of all freeze

there can be many hundreds of millions

tons certainly an iscg deposits like

what marimaka is or Merrimack is kind of

an isolated and then a hybrid we also

have a very large upside blanket on top

um it's unusual I would say in areas

where you know you ride into the bedroom

relatively early and typically quite

hard Bedrock that new ca you know five

six hundred meter metal weather in like

board staying in barramaca that is carry

out visual we've got a we've got a 500

meter continuous column of mineralized

rock which is quite unusual but

certainly a couple of hundred meters

um is is pretty regularly seen on top of

large Sharp isn't that a function though

at Mary macca because

the as I understand it was oxidized

in one orientation down to a certain

depth but obviously I've become quite a

wide area and then it was tilted and is

that not what gives the 500 meters of

um supposed death but actually it's just

kind of a lateral measure that's been

kind of rotated around so you can now

it's deep but at the time it was

um of a level and has been rotated is

that what you're referring to

no not not quite although that is

certainly uh part of the reason why

um it's like a domino effect to another

episode

but the the oxidation profile is really

a function of the reason why marabaco is

yeah we're still you know we're still

formulating the final finer pieces as to

it's Genesis because it is quite unusual

it was it

um but it is in place as a result of

really really uh

really really pervasive fracturing of

the rock so a huge amount of fracturing

through that rock all the way down right

you know several hundred meter surface

inches allowed that surface water to

turn the out through the pilot

um and yes okay some of that has been

investigated by that domino effect

it's more function of the reason that an

unusual unit authored in this part of

the world is

um that really purposes fracturing which

is caused by the regional Shear forces

I'm calling it causing what we call a

dilation result item extensional uh Zion

between two uh to rock structures that

has expanded that mass and allowed the

uh copper richness

and I guess if you've got a

um some part of kind of rotational

transpression on that structure and

you've got a brittle Rock it's going to

kind of exacerbate the fracturing

augment the fracturing

um

one of the challenges of oxide deposits

generally whether you're talking about

copper or gold is that um that normally

volumetrically is small because it's

only kind of it's It's they're they're

challenged by being close to surface

um you mentioned that they can be up to

you know several hundred million tons on

the top of a big pull free system

um

but the amount of production today is

very much driven by sulfide

um

yeah global global copper production is

driven by the the um sulfide minerals

you know um but when you're assessing a

an oxide deposit what do you you know

when do you know that you've got enough

to

uh kind of say actually we might be able

to do a an oxide Standalone project here

uh or we might just have a little phase

one on the oxide and then we're going to

go on to the sulfide or we might just

kind of stockpile the oxide to one side

and then move on to the cell phone what

can you just kind of describe some of

the thought process around those

decision trees

um yeah you're right 85 percent I think

or maybe even more of the global copper

production calcium sulfide deposits and

they're smelting although there is a

pretty strong push now to move back to

back to lychee or trying to Leach those

firmary Arabs which is kind of uh you

know the Holy Grail of copper and we'll

see if anyone really cracks the nut on

that we're saying a few technologies

that vital interesting

um in terms of project size yeah look

oxide projects can be much smaller

um it's I'm not advocating that people

should invest in small projects because

in mining like any industrial process

stayable to your friend uh terms of you

know amortizing fixed costs there is a

base of fixed costs that needs to be

considered for any project that you

can't get away from the minimum Staffing

requirements and so there is some

economy of scale but as a general rule I

would be looking at

you know 30 to 35 000 tons of copper

production my low end has sort of

started to become quite interesting uh

once you get 50 000 tons of copper

cathode your globally significant Cabo

producer and that is uh that is a very

nice place to be in terms of mine life

you know he wants to 10 years so that

puts you in a range of you know half a

million tons of contained copper and

upwards

um and once you get in the New York

local executions

sorry just just those rough sums you

know 10 years are producing 35 000 or 30

to 35 000 tons per annum

um

and you talk about roughly 500 000 tons

per annum of contained copper is that

because the the recovery is likely to be

70 odd percent is is that where you're

yeah a give or take

um it depends really and this is where

we get into some really quite technical

areas the biggest risk on a heat Beach

copper crop there you know alongside the

resources the Metallurgy tests work and

understanding how it will fall on the

Heap understanding variability enough I

can to yourself and Matt a lot about the

recipe mining projects you know it is

fundamental to do the work but as a

general rule in Chile uh Cobra projects

are operating in 10 60 and 75 80

recoveries depending on the neural

species and you know what's gaining and

around it and they're operating

parameters

and one of the attractive things about

copper oxide projects is that there's a

difference in capex

um

why can you come outline the the key

differences in calf exhibition kind of a

sulfide operation and an oxide what's

what what is there and what is there not

in in across those two um process routes

yeah so uh the mining stage is

completely the same and then you get to

the primary crashing stage which is

completely the same

um and typically with a with a copper

oxide project you will crash to any size

of roughly three quarters of an inch and

we talk about pH and three-fourths so uh

you know what's that about 1.5

centimeters in uh 80 of your material in

English

foreign

mixing my metrics and Interior Systems

um the the key difference from that step

is that typically with the soul side

project you will need to grind

reasonably significant wider and that is

you know really driven by processing uh

Bays afterwards which is the froth

flotation of those sulfide minerals but

you need to make sure that the sulfide

minerals are liberated on the

surrounding Bedrock or what we'll call

again if they're not liberated properly

the froth will not be strong enough to

float the sulfide minerals and you wake

up the coverage so the next big piece of

capex is typically a oil mill which is a

very large piece of equipment depending

on mine size multiple Bowl noodles if

you get up to really big projects like

Cobra Panama you know I know they have

several in Wellness ball Mills in

parallel

um then you know escondido's obviously

enrollment so that's the first big

pieces uh equipment additions that is at

relatively

hit also very expensive from the power

consumption side so the the power

consumption curve to take a rock the

same drop from three quarters of an inch

to 75 microns or even fighter is an

exponential curve so you're putting in

exponentially more power to reduce the

size of the microns in those uh and

that's going into your location

um then you get into the flotation plant

which is actually a plant so there are

you know big tanks uh lots of agitators

lots of mechanical equipment lots of

piping that's another key difference

between heat leech public

um in that a heat bleach is just a pile

of dirt sitting on yes they're civil and

Earthworks which you stand up front in

terms of Opex but it's much lower cost

and having more steel piping electric

instrumentation monitoring and all that

sort of stuff

um and in many have that helped

be you need an irrigation system don't

you you know through through your

um through your HEAP but I guess that's

not this it's an ultra magnitude

difference because it's not on the same

kind of um page as the piping and the

circuitry and the metal work required

for a flotation circuit

yeah the irrigation system on a heat

ledge is it looks like a garden area a

large-scale garden irrigation system

it's just black pipes running across the

top of your depending on the systems

used across the top of your eight bleach

and you're running your acid material uh

your assets that they cheat liquid

through there

um and it percolates through the Heap

and then you collect it use typically

using gravity into your piles and then

ideally using gravity

uh yes xcw is different obviously that's

an expensive auction out cost makes up

about 40 percent of that so it's a

couple of cost of their routes

um

uh solvent extraction Electro reading so

that is the key difference between

concentration and and what we're doing

at the end so what we have is a niche

solution which has copper ions in it

it's pumped into uh what's called the

solid extraction phase where we inject

or we stir in an organic material which

attracts the copper then the copper

organic material is washed and the final

product is sent into the sxcw where our

electrical current was run

and it's that electrical current that

causes call it light into

and that's the

and that's the electro win I mean is

your electric literally winning the

um the copper by stimulating with the

electricity

exactly

um and that I always every time I go

around an sxw plant I always kind of

slightly choke on the um the acid fumes

you know that's an acid

um a key input or a key reagent is is

acid in there isn't it that's right

sulfuric acid specifically although you

can use some other acid that sulfuric

acid is is the most commonly used liquid

and where do you buy the assets from

generally I mean I know that that each

country has an own kind of its own

um acid balance I I I've done I've done

a little bit of work on the asset

balances on Namibia and the Congo and

Zambia back in the

um in a previous life

um

um typically where does the acid come

from uh

to use in the sxcw process

well so acid is primarily acid Supply

demand balance is primarily driven by

fertilizer industry which is data which

consumed and most of the acid globally

primarily for the development of

phosphoric acid

so why do we used it fertilizers

um and and that's a real driver for the

ups and downs of the asset price acid

doesn't is notoriously bad at traveling

and at storage

you typically want your acid Source

relatively close to you and uh you don't

want to be storing it it's highly

corrosive in that keyword form so

um this biggest sources are natural

salsa burners which come

so large-scale chemical companies for

sale in industrial purposes but also in

the uh upper industry

um the other big source is smelting of

primary sulfates so obviously burning

heating superheating any sulfide ore

will create sulfur dioxide which can

then be captured in its sulfuric acid so

the bigger sources tend to be smelters

and straight up sulfur burners obviously

anywhere there's a big footprint of

copper production these likely could be

a very large scale uh producer of

sulfuric acid and chili no different so

the vast majority of acid in Chile is

kept internally for use and then in the

copper industry maybe there's a little

bit of export most of the acid coming up

to our region is

there is also a very large scale uh

smelter just South America there are

still produces about 800 000 tons a year

it's lost Uric acids so there's plenty

of sources and chili

um central Africa or you know the sort

of Zambian Copper Bell uh maybe slightly

less but

wherever it has a smell so there's

likely to be yeah yeah and I've also

been to some operations where they had

their own acid plants

um I've visited some of the uranium

operations in um in Niger and I've been

been to an acid plant falling off in um

I think maren Morin when they were doing

the high pressure acid leech on the

nickel laterites they also had they were

using quite a lot of acid there they had

huge piles of sulfur that they were

converting into um into acid

yeah yeah I know there's definitely a

Tipping Point in terms of scale where it

starts to make sense to buy the

elemental sulfur and spend that Apex but

that's also better acid plants is a

relatively extensive than quite dirt and

piece of equipment so if you don't have

to build it a border that if you can

yeah absolutely

um uh just going back to the um the the

sulfide processing route

um we've gone through the flotation

circuit and that as you mentioned has

got lots of kind of piping and there are

roughers and cleaners and then then

presumably that just gets

um filtered and and packed and dried

yeah correct they they water

um and then you know that wet tailings

to the tailings facility uh and then

ship out the concentrate materials and

Jetta smelts in your gold agreement you

or some percentage of the contained

method are

and in Chile there's um there's some

fabulous pipelines aren't there of kind

of concentrate pipeline it's going to

give you any comment on those I mean if

you've got any insight

yeah well I've I think uh concentrate is

not pure metal and so you're not getting

so in terms of the value of per ton of

material scent it's not 100 metal value

which whereas with cathode you'll see if

you send a ton of cathode it's worth uh

you know it was eight thousand five

hundred dollars today

and if you think about the cost of the

trucking or training

um you know a lower value material can

eat into that market pretty quickly so

transport and Logistics is something you

consider but I think it's certainly in

Chile being up in the high Andes it

makes a lot of sense to use gravity and

use at large scales pull it back on

slurry pipeline to get the concentrate

slowing down to Port where it will be

exported they're going to just save such

enormous amount uh costs and tends to

transport but also the capex about the

transportation infrastructure is

significantly cheaper to do a pipeline

you know they're very well used in

industrial processes the World overnight

abuse us and um they they send you know

60 000 tons per annum or more down these

pipes you know that that size diameter

and it comes out like toothpaste I mean

it flows like toothpaste it's quite

extraordinary isn't it you know

um down to the port and then it's uh

dried again because it's got it has to

have a slightly higher moisture moisture

content uh to to move through the pipes

and then uh it's dried again and then

loaded into ships I mean it's quite a

remarkable feat of engineering

um I guess that

um

so with the reduced capex

but potentially with the smaller scale

um does that change the economic

thresholds I mean can you can is it do

you think it's safe to generalize to say

that you can generally get away with a

lower grade on an oxide than you can on

a sulfide providing there's enough scale

um there's a lot of moving parts to that

question but I'd say in general probably

you can get away with

uh grade oxide project assuming that you

get days it recoveries yeah 65 70

recovers assuming then you have a

manageable should ratio in your computer

I.E less than says five to one

um yeah you've got relatively good

access to our relatives I'm assuming all

of those things yeah you could you can

almost certainly say that you're going

to have a lower like rate

um although the complication is

typically in flotation circuits you tend

to recover a lot more helper uh so you

know whereas in Microsystems are 70 and

then in the heat leads project uh you

might get 90 plus percent that would

contain copper 85 million percent you

know uh you know concentrate budget

um but I think the real kicker is the on

average if you look at the industry

um the average Capital intensity I.E the

total Capital cost per ton of copper

produced or a sulfide product this is an

oxalic object is about two and a half

two and a half to one so all else being

equal you will see a significant Capital

bit thought object and therefore

something is what we describe as much

more potency than robust and almost

certainly uh has a as a better chance of

being in mind regardless assistant

or something

and with a

um

lower Capital cost per time but possibly

also a lower operating cost or an energy

consumption is there's that hard to

generalize

um typically no I'd say typically the

you know your big decent grade sulfide

projects will have a lower

um a lower unit costs a ton during just

on account of the scale uh you can have

very competitive operating costs but I

think the bigger with most sulfide

projects are really outstanding

makes them work if you will is the buy

product credits they they often have uh

so you know you start producing a couple

hundred thousand ounces a year of gold

it very quickly reduces that near the

cost to it down yeah and in an oxide

project you can't recover the gold or

the silver although morally if there is

or um so it becomes a pure play on the

copper

well you can do but it involves a

secondary leech and

um yeah there's ways and mans to get

around it but in many of the outside

progress um see much lower levels as

precious relative to the uh

Hayden thank you so much A real blast a

real trip around oxides and sulfides um

let's leave it there for today and thank

you very much

thanks

foreign