RE:RE:RE:Interesting..Auteco Resumes Mining of Ming Rambler MineSo, Auteco is now embarking on Drilling/ excavating a large bulk sample from a higher grade copper gold lode which contains 39 m tons of 2.1% copper and a gold grade less than 1 gram per ton.
This lode is suffucuent for about 3 years or so of commercial production of about 20-25 million lbs of copper per year.
Approx $75 million in annual revenue of which it will cost over $20 million in haulage costs.
That really cuts down on free cash flow and makes operating margins razor thin and very vulnerable to copper price volatility.
So, tolling it's Ming mine copper production through the Pine cove mill.....it is quite capable of gold and copper production at the same time..makes eminent sense for Auteco .
But, there is a further and larger incentive .
It can bolster the gold content of its copper concentrate by adding for example Stoger Tight gold production to the floatation plant along with the copper ore.
Recent content was less than 5000 ounces per year as copper by product .
This can be tripled by adding Stoger gold which would then make the net cost of copper production net of gold byproduct, close to zero.
So, Marathon is very well positioned to take advantage of resumption of copper mining by Auteco at its Ming mine which has a mine life of about 20 years.
Acquiring Marathon or merging as equals makes total economic sense, creating a NL mining powerhouse with ex eptional and exclusive leverage to NFG production objectives...essentially controlling its timing and magnitude for many years.