Kakula: 49.6 million Troy ounces at 8.89 gram/tonne Au EqWith 21.5 billion lbs copper at the 3% cutoff,this works out to 49.6 million troy oz of VERY HIGH GRADE gold equivalent priced at $1300 oz gold. I thought it would be interesting to translate the copper into gold and see what kind of gold mine would be required to match Kakula in value. And remember Kakula is still expanding. All values from Feb 26 news release. Here are the calculations in USD:
For an average 5.62% copper at the 3% cutoff:
0.0562 x 2204 lb/tonne = 123.86 lb Cu/t
123.86 lb Cu/t x $3/lb Cu = $371.59/t
($371.59/t) / ($1300/Troy oz gold) = 0.2858 t.oz AuEq / tonne copper ore
31.1 grams/Troy oz x 0.2858 t.oz AuEq = 8.89 grams/tonne AuEq
Then we know there are 21.5 billion lbs copper at the 3% cutoff:
21.5 billion lbs x $3/lb = $64.5 billion
$64.4 billion / $1300/t.oz gold = 49.6 million Troy ounces
And that would be for a Very High Grade gold mine with ore at 8.89 grams/tonne. That is equivalent to the Goldfields South Deep mine with a resource (not reserves) of 68.4 million oz at a grade of 6.4 g/t Au. South Deep is the second largest gold mine in the world. Grasberg is first, although at far lower grades.