Anvil Mining is proceeding with the $35 million Stage I development of the Kinsevere copper/cobalt deposits following the completion of the feasibility study in early May 2006. The Kinsevere project, which comprises the Kinsevere Hill, Tshifufia and Tshifufiamashi deposits, is located 27 km north-northeast of Lubumbashi, the provincial capital of the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Joint Venture Company AMCK s.p.r.l., in which Anvil owns a 70% interest, and Mining Co of Katanga s.p.r.l, (MCK), a local Congolese company which owns a 30% interest, will develop the Kinsevere project in a phased approach similar to that previously used by Anvil to successfully develop its Dikulushi and Kulu operating mines in the DRC. The Kinsevere Stage I development comprises the construction of a crushing plant (which has been designed to meet the needs of planned future expansion), a 1 Mt/y heavy media separation (HMS) plant and an electric arc furnace (EAF), with a capacity to produce approximately 23-25,000 t/y of ‘black copper’ ingots grading 85-95% copper.
It is expected that Stage I will be completed at the end of the first quarter of 2007. Stage I will include an upgrade of the existing 25 km access road into the project, the construction of a 27 km power line from the 220 KVA National hydroelectric grid system (with additional built-in capacity for subsequent SX-EW upgrading and expansion) and ancillary buildings on site. Financing of this first phase of construction costing $35 million will come from the company’s existing cash resources, which at the end of the first quarter of 2006 were $112 million. It is anticipated that the Joint Venture will upgrade and expand the HMS-EAF processing facilities within two or three years with an SX-EW plant that would be capable of producing 30,000 t/y of LME grade “A” cathode copper. A feasibility study on the Stage II SX-EW upgrade has commenced and is now expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2006. A significant portion of the infrastructure required for the Stage II SX-EW development will be completed during the Stage I construction.
Bill Turner, President and CEO, stated “Anvil’s staged development approach has been used very successfully at the Dikulushi and Kulu Mines and we are confident that it will serve us well at Kinsevere which will be the Company’s third mine development in the DRC since 2002. With existing cash resources of over $112 million, no debt, being unhedged and having two operating open pit copper mines generating strong cash flow, the company is in an excellent position to deliver the Kinsevere Stage I and Stage II developments, as well as to pursue other project expansions in its pipeline of projects in the DRC. With the development of Kinsevere, the company will be well positioned to realize its near-term goal of producing 100,000 t/y of copper, a large proportion of which is expected to be cathode copper".
