Quaterra Resources (QTA) announced that a 7,000 -10,000 foot core drilling program is underway at its MacArthur Project.
The MacArthur Property is located in the Yerington District, Nevada.
The drilling program began on May 4th.
Costs associated with the program will be internally funded through the utilization of funds on hand and funds derived through the exercise of warrants prior to their maturity date.
The drill program, with an estimated time frame of 2-3 months, is designed to accomplish three objectives:
- Test the area east of the current resource for additional oxide mineralization
- Upgrade portions of the resource from Inferred to Indicated status
- Explore the under - drilled sulphide mineralization that exists beneath the oxide mineral resource.
"We intend to move MacArthur toward production as quickly as possible, and the current drilling program is the first step. Resurgent copper prices, a premier mining jurisdiction and global initiatives in electrification and decarbonization assure that success will be rewarded," says Quaterra chairman, Tom Patton.
This drilling program is the first major step toward the completion of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) to be followed by a program of large diameter core drilling for the purpose of obtaining fresh samples for metallurgical testing; column testing to refine estimates of copper recovery and acid consumption; and mine plan optimization and financial model updating.
The company estimates that completion of the PFS will require 12-15 months and will cost US$3.5M-$4.0M, depending on the results and availability of funds.
The successful completion of the PFS will substantially de-risk the project and inform whether the project should proceed to permitting, development, construction and operation.
Quaterra has completed more than a year of scoping work, including engineering work with results that suggest that the project may be amenable to a run-of-mine operation that could lower capital and operating costs.
Like all acid-leach projects, MacArthur is sensitive to the price of copper, which has recently increased in excess of $4.00/lb. and to the price and usage of acid.
The PFS will include a trade-off study to compare building an on-site acid plant versus shipment of acid from off-site, which could further reduce capital costs.
Quaterra Resources is a copper-gold exploration company focused on projects with the potential to host large-scale mineral deposits attractive to major mining companies.
Quaterra Resources Inc. (QTA) is up 4.17 per cent, trading at C$0.125 per share at 11 am ET.