Adventus Mining Corporation says negotiations have concluded for the award of the open pit mining contract to a joint-venture between STRACON SA, the well-established Peruvian mining contractor with operations throughout the Americas, and RIPCONCIV, a large and respected Ecuadorian infrastructure construction contractor, for the development of the El Domo-Curipamba copper-gold project located in central Ecuador. The STRACON-RIPCONCIV JV partners have also confirmed an equity commitment to Adventus Mining for a total of $5 million.

In 2021, Adventus advanced the El Domo development with infill and geotechnical drilling programs in conjunction with the completion of the feasibility study. The feasibility study included the first estimate of mineral reserves (open pit) and updated the total estimate of mineral resources (open pit & underground). Open pit Proven & Probable Mineral Reserves stand at 6.5 Mt at 1.93% Cu, 2.52 g/t Au, 46 g/t Ag, 2.49% Zn, 0.2% Pb. The Feasibility Study was commissioned by Adventus and led by DRA Americas Inc to further advance the engineering design and future construction of an open-pit mine and facilities to produce concentrates of copper, zinc, and lead with significant gold and silver credits.

The open pit will be mined using a traditional truck and shovel operation with a contractor mining fleet consisting of drills, shovels, front end loaders, and 40 t haul trucks. The open-pit will be developed in four phases and operate for approximately 10 years of production, with total material movement of 61.8 Mt (6.5 Mt ore and 55.3 Mt waste) at a strip ratio of 8.6 (including pre-stripping) and 6.02 without pre-stripping included. The open-pit mine design consists of a single pit with a mining sequence to maximise grade, but also provides suitable construction material for the project infrastructure and waste management facilities during construction. Mining of ore is expected to begin within 18 months of the start of pre-production waste movement.

The process plant is expected to ramp-up production over a three-month period following completion of construction to a steady state throughput rate of 666,000 t/year (1,850 t/d). The processing plant design includes a comminution circuit consisting of a two-stage crushing circuit followed by ball milling, and sequential flotation circuits producing copper, zinc, and lead concentrates.

The mining contract has been structured in an alliance-partnership model to ensure focus on the best solutions for the project and the optimal allocation of risks to the parties best equipped to manage and mitigate. The contract term is for a duration of 48 months which is projected to include the construction period as well as the first two years of operations. Adventus Mining and the STRACON-RIPCONCIV JV have the option to extend the contract further upon mutual agreement between the parties.

This contract is the largest anticipated to be awarded for the project and includes scope generally consisting of open pit pre-strip and mining, and construction of the tailings facility, waste rock facilities, and associated mine infrastructure.

The previously announced Letter of Intent for this contract has allowed for preliminary training and planning work to commence in the El Domo Project communities since September 2022. STRACON-RIPCONCIV JV has already initiated aptitude assessments to select up to 70 people from the local communities surrounding the project for a mining equipment operator training program. The ongoing program has classroom, mining simulator, and hands-on equipment operation components and is in the process of ramping up. Adventus Mining and the STRACON-RIPCONCIV JV intend to hire the successful trainees to operate the equipment required to both construct the mine and execute mining activities during operations, resulting in skilled and high-paying employment opportunities for the local communities and broader multiplier benefits regionally in Ecuador.

STRACON and RIPCONCIV have both signed definitive binding agreements to make an investment in Adventus Mining under identical terms. An aggregate sum of $5 million will be invested, comprised of $2.5 million from each of the joint-venture partners.