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Company Statement
Equinox is an international mining company, dual listed on the Canadian (Toronto) and Australian stock exchanges (Symbol: 'EQN').
The Company is focused on operating its 100% owned Lumwana Copper Project in Zambia. The Lumwana Copper Mine will produce an average of 172,000 tonnes per year of copper metal contained in concentrates for the first 6 years of its 37 year mine life. The 20 Mtpa plant is now fully operational and production commenced in early December 2008. Full production will be reached in 2009 at which time Lumwana will be one of Africa's largest copper mines.
Our Key Objectives
- Continue to ramp up copper concentrate production at Lumwana;
- Continue to assess the development of a 0.8-1.0 Mtpa Uranium process plant with a view to producing U3O8 and finalise any outstanding licencing, marketing and financing agreements;
- Advance successful exploration targets to early stage resource definition stage and pre-feasibility study level where applicable;
- Assess and evaluate opportunities to expand and optimize the Lumwana Copper Mine's concentrator and mine throughput rate and near mine orebodies.
- Review and assess existing and future corporate opportunities as the company grows.
Current Operations
Exploration
Zambia
The Zambian Copperbelt remains one of the world's great copper provinces. With limited copper exploration since the 1970's and with 40% of the country still to be geologically mapped, Zambia hosts outstanding exploration opportunity. Equinox has applied modern exploration technology and concepts to leverage its opportunity.
The Equinox team knows how to explore in Zambia, having been active in the country since 1996. The company has an extensive portfolio of exploration properties in Zambia with outstanding copper potential, on the Copperbelt and in the North Western Province, covering 3 of the 4 mineralized ‘domes' in Zambia.
Furthermore the significant number of radiometric anomalies actively being investigated offers great potential to increase the Company's current uranium resources.
Equinox will maintain an accelerated exploration effort in parallel with Lumwana development to maintain an exploration ‘pipeline' of projects.
Lumwana Exploration
The Lumwana mining license covers 1,355 km2 and is located on the Mwombezhi Dome. It is one of the most prospective areas of Zambia for largescale, copper-cobalt deposits. In late 2004, Equinox demonstrated the success of its exploration strategy with the ‘blind' discovery at Chimiwungo North, the first new discovery in the Lumwana region in over 40 years.
Modern geological tools utilized by Equinox at Lumwana include the application of high-resolution aeromagnetics and detailed induced polarization (‘IP') geophysical surveys and these were critical in Equinox's success. Equinox has coupled these modern exploration techniques with revised geological concepts in a strategy to maximize its opportunity in some of the most prospective parts of the Central African Copperbelt.
Equinox has identified numerous targets at Lumwana including:
- The Kanga Prospect, located south of the Malundwe pit at Lumwana where mining has commenced. Subsequent to 10 reverse circulation percussion (‘RCP') drill holes in 2006 an additional 28 RCP holes totaling 4,916m have been drilled along 2km of strike during 2007. All RCP holes intersected the ore schist horizon with intercepts ranging between 5 - 20 metres in width encountered at the predicted down-hole position.
- The Malundwe deposit, the first to be mined, remains open to the north and south, with the southern extensions now appearing to merge with the Kanga Prospect;
- The Kababisa Prospect lies approximately 5km north of the Lumwana process plant currently under construction. Equinox undertook a timedomain IP program that identified significant, coherent, strike parallel IP anomalies extending for over 3km. Recent RCP drilling intercepted this zone of mineralization with strong similarities to the nearby Malundwe orebody. Consequently this target will be reviewed in 2008 with the intention being to extend mineralization northward to deliver a resource.
Equinox considers Chimiwungo North and the other ‘near mine' targets as showing significant potential to develop into resources which could be exploited during Lumwana mine life.
Equinox is expanding its exploration effort now that the Lumwana Mine is nearing commissioning so as to maintain an exploration ‘pipeline' of projects.
Projects Elsewhere in Zambia
Equinox holds extensive exploration permits in Zambia, around the Copperbelt, to the east around Kasanka, to the northwest surrounding the Lumwana Mining License and in the Kabompo region further to the northwest.
In the Kafue Dome of the Copperbelt the Kitwe-Mwekere properties adjoin a number of the current major Copperbelt mining operations. The most prospective targets within these tenements include the Ndola West, Ngala and Mwekere prospects. All of these are in the Lower Roan sequence which extends for approximately 90km along the border between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (‘DRC'), between the leases surrounding the Bwana Mkubwa Mine (First Quantum Minerals) in the southeast, to the Mufulira Mine (Mopani Copper Mines) in the northwest.
This sequence also hosts a number of recent discoveries, including the Frontier and Nina prospects of First Quantum that are located within 2km on the DRC side of the border. Equinox controls most of the ground on the Zambian side of the border.
Equinox has focused its exploration efforts on the following prospects:
- The Ndola West Prospect comprises copper mineralization hosted within the Lower Roan sequence on the Copperbelt, where the mineralized stratigraphy abuts the Kafue Dome. The prospect is considered to have equivalent geology to the Mufulira deposit, some 60km along strike to the northwest, also on the northern flank of the Kafue Dome.
Previous work by Equinox intersected some substantial widths of high-grade copper mineralization. High-grade results of note include an intersection of 14m @ 6.29% Cu from 81m which terminated in mineralization at 95m. Further diamond drilling has recently been completed at this project and results are awaited.
- At Lolwa on the Kapompo Project, uranium mineralization had been identified during the 1980's by AGIP, but the target was not fully tested. Equinox tested the target with completion of 2,787m in 29 holes, 12 of which intersected uranium mineralisation between 1m and 4m (down-hole) thicknesses over several kilometers of strike.
- At the Cheyeza prospect, 16km south of Lolwa, field mapping and soil sampling have identified ironstone and sediments with minor chalcopyrite and possibly chalcocite.
Globally
Elsewhere, Equinox has interests in Australian base metals exploration through equity interests in Liontown Resources Limited, (ASX: ‘LTR') and Alturas Minerals Corp. (TSX-V: ‘ALT') for gold and copper-gold exploration in Peru.
Lumwana Project
Lumwana Project and Construction Summary
The Company's optimized development plan is based on the published (June 2008 Technical Report) ‘Development Case' which provides a mining schedule that contains 45% Measured and Indicated Resources and 55% Inferred Resources to be mined over a 37 year life-of-mine (‘LOM') on the basis of processing 20 million tones per year of ore to produce copper concentrates for shipment to local smelters.
LOM (37 years) annual production will average 156,000 tonnes (340 million lbs) of copper metal, with over 172,000 tonnes (380 million lbs) being produced per year during the initial 6 year period.
Total life of project Operating Cash Costs under the Development Case are expected to be US$0.82 per pound or US$0.76 per pound of copper produced, inclusive of uranium credits.
In addition, Lumwana hosts a Probable Uranium Resource containing 16 million pounds of U3O8 or 13 million pounds within the designed copper pits. A feasibility study has been completed which shows that it is economically viable to treat the uranium mineralisation onsite.
Project Location
Located in the North Western Province of Zambia, 220 km west of the Copperbelt and 65 km west of the town of Solwezi, Lumwana is easily accessed by the Northwest Highway.
The Copperbelt, one of the world's greatest concentrations of copper cobalt deposits, has been a centre of commercial copper production for 80 years.
Mining License
The Lumwana Large Scale Mining License, LML-49, covers 1,355 km2, and includes two major copper deposits, Malundwe and Chimiwungo, and 25 exploration prospects. Equinox owns 100% of LML-49.
Infrastructure
The Northwest Highway, which links the Lumwana region, Solwezi and the Copperbelt, passes within 3 km of the project.
ZESCO, the Zambian national power generating and distributing company has completed the construction of its 330kV power line extension from Solwezi to the Lumwana substation. Equinox has a long-term (15 year) power supply offtake agreement with ZESCO.
Mine Plan
The Company's optimized mine plan is based on the ‘Development Case' which contemplates a mining schedule that contains 45% Measured and Indicated Resources and 55% Inferred Resources to be mined over a 37 year mine life on the basis of processing 20 million tones per year of ore at an average strip ratio of 4.2:1.
The Development Case mine plan envisages that the Malundwe and Chimiwungo deposits, which are 7km apart, will be mined sequentially by open-pit mining methods. The ore bodies are 95% sulphide (with only 5% oxide) and very consistent, so large-scale bulk-mining methods are being employed utilizing equipment that includes a total of 27 x 240 tonne capacity diesel-electric drive hybrid haulage trucks and 7 x 518 tonne diesel and electric loaders (excavators and face shovels).
Sulphide ore will be processed on-site by conventional crushing, grinding and flotation to produce copper concentrates for shipment to offsite smelters. Metallurgical test work indicates recoveries of greater than 95% copper, producing average concentrate grades of 43.3% Cu for Malundwe and 29.5% Cu for Chimiwungo. The flotation plant has a design capacity to treat at least 20 million tonnes per year of ore and will, in the first 6 year period, produce in concentrate 172,000 tonnes of copper metal per year (380 million lbs per year).
Life of mine production will average 156,000 tonnes of copper metal per year (340 million lbs year) based on the 20 million tonnes per year throughput.
Geographical Spread
Equinox activities are managed on a global basis from Perth, Western Australia but operate in three main geographical areas namely Australia, Zambia and Peru.
Board of Directors and Key Management
| Board | |
| Peter Tomsett | (Non-Executive Chairman) |
| Craig Williams | (President and Chief Executive Officer) |
| Harry Michael | (Executive Director, Vice-President Operations) |
| Mr. Colin (Cobb) Johnstone | Chief Operating Officer |
| Adam Wright | (Managing Director, Lumwana) |
| David Mosher | (Non-Executive Director) |
| Brian Penny | (Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee) |
| David McAusland | (Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee) |
| Jim Pantelidis | (Non-Executive Director) |
| Management | |
| Michael Klessens | (Vice President Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary) |
| Robert Rigo | (Vice President Project Development) |
| Kevin van Niekerk | (Vice President Investor Relations) |
| Ralph Gibson | (Vice President Project Finance) |
Company AddressGround Floor
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Additional Address/Key Contact155 University Avenue |
CapitalShares Issued - 339 million
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Annual General MeetingNovember | Year EndJune 30 |
Related News
11/08/09 - It’s All Smiles At Equinox As Copper Production At Lumwana Gets Into Its Stride, And The Uranium Stockpile Grows Ever Larger02/04/09 - Equinox Minerals Survives Multiple Baptisms To Deliver On A Ten Year Old Promise
14/10/08 - Equinox Minerals Now On Verge Of Copper Production
17/04/08 - Equinox Will Soon Have The Largest Producing Copper Mine in Africa, Not To Mention A $1.5bn Uranium Stockpile
Most Recent Statement
09/03/10 - Equinox Achieves Financial Close for New US$400 Million Corporate Loan02/03/10 - Equinox to Publish Q4 2009 and Full Year 2009 Results on Wednesday, March 10, 2010; Issues Conference Call Details
01/02/10 - Establishes New US$400 Million Corporate Loan Facility to Extinguish Lumwana Project Debt Facilities
21/01/10 - Equinox Preliminary Lumwana Production Results for 4th Quarter and Full Year 2009
07/12/09 - Equinox Appoints Cobb Johnstone
13/11/09 - Equinox Q3-2009 Results show 15% Increase in Lumwana Copper Production and 77% Increase in Operating Profit