QMines Ltd (ASX:QML) is a step away from securing a formal mining lease for the Mt Chalmers Copper and Gold Project near Rockhampton in central Queensland, having submitted a lease application following positive feedback from the Queensland Department of Resources.
Mining lease number ML 100403 has been allocated to the project.
In April, the company delivered a pre-feasibility study for Mt Chalmers, as well as a maiden ore reserve estimate in the proved and probable categories of 9.6 million tonnes at 0.65% copper, 0.27% zinc, 4.3% sulphur, 0.48 g/t gold and 5.2 g/t silver.
In total, the project’s ore reserves are estimated to contain 62,600 tonnes of copper, 25,700 tonnes of zinc, 147,600 ounces of gold, 1.553 million ounces of silver and 418,000 tonnes of sulphur.
Targeting resource growth
“The submission of a mining lease application is a very exciting development for the company,” QMines management commented.
“To get to this position within just over three years is a tremendous achievement by the QMines team.
"The recent pre-feasibility study results on the Mt Chalmers deposit demonstrate a long life, low cost and high margin mining operation.
“The project has immediate and known upside with five additional deposits at the Mt Chalmers and Develin Creek projects that fall outside of the current mine plan.
"The company is now preparing to commence its maiden drilling program at its Develin Creek project where the company has two high-grade copper-zinc deposits which have the potential to grow the scale of a potential mining operation at Mt Chalmers."
The combined mineral resource estimates of the Mt Chalmers and Develin Creek projects currently sit at 15.1 million tonnes at 1.3% copper equivalent, for 195,800 tonnes of copper.