Objectives & Highlights
Objectives
Lumwana holds significant potential for organic expansion and the Company expects the mine will provide a solid foundation from which to build a new Mining House:
- Target production for 2010 is 135,000 tonnes (300 M lbs) of copper in concentrate at a C1 cash cost of $1.35/lb Cu.
- To increase process plant design capacity throughput by 20% from 20 million tonnes per year to 24 million tonnes per year increasing Lumwana mine copper output;
- Complete a feasibility study for the medium-term objective of expanding Lumwana process plant throughput further (stage two expansion) to between 30 to 35 million tonnes per year:
- Develop a uranium facility to process the uranium ore stockpiles, subject to favorable financing and uranium market conditions;
- Continue exploration activities close to Lumwana and on regional exploration properties; and
- Actively monitor and evaluate new projects and corporate opportunities.
2008 Highlights
Lumwana Copper Project
Equinox accepted handover of the Lumwana Copper Plant and other associated infrastructure from the engineering contractor in November 2008. Mine commissioning and ramp-up is underway and commercial concentrate deliveries have commenced. During the year the following activities, in chronological order, contributed to this significant milestone:
- Commissioning of the Lumwana Copper Project commenced in April 2008 with the electrification of the main Lumwana 33kV substation and subsequent reticulation of power around the site;
- Equinox secured the long-term land title to approximately 35 thousand hectares (350 square kilometers) of township and mine operating areas at the Company’s Lumwana mining license;
- In June the Lumwana SAG mill (18 megawatts) was fully energized and rotated by the engineering contractor and commissioning of the primary crusher also commenced;
- A fire on July 7, 2008, caused damage to the main transformer and adjacent substation causing a four and a half month delay to project completion and handover;
- In September, crushing of material at the primary crusher commenced with the 4.5 kilometre conveying circuit commissioned transporting crushed material to the fine ore stockpile at the copper concentrator;
- In October 2008, Equinox secured an additional US$80.0 million project debt facility to enable the Company to meet additional working capital requirements resulting from the transformer fire and subsequent delayed startup;
- The large scale Hitachi EX5500 electric face shovels were successfully commissioned and put into production commencing in October 2008;
- Equinox accepted handover of the Lumwana processing facilities and associate infrastructure from the engineering contractor in November 2008;
- Equinox produced its first copper concentrate at Lumwana during December 2008. Wet commissioning of the final stage of the process plant filter-press commenced;
- First commercial quantities of copper concentrate were made to off-take customers during December 2008;
- The Lumwana Property Development Company, a special purpose vehicle established for the new Lumwana town, secured an additional US$25 million debt facility with FMO to cover infrastructure costs; and
- Lumwana achieved an excellent health and safety record, with over 5 million man hours without a lost time injury and producing a lost-time-injury frequency rate of 0.3 (per 200 thousand hours), an achievement management believes to be an outstanding result;
Target production for 2010 is 135,000 tonnes (300 M lbs) of copper in concentrate at a C1 cash cost of $1.35/lb Cu. As can be expected, unit production costs are anticipated to be higher during ramp-up until steady state production activities are reached.
Lumwana Uranium Project
In April 2008, Equinox published the Lumwana uranium feasibility study (“UFS”) on the design of a treatment facility for the uranium ore stockpile that will result from the selective mining of the discrete, high grade uranium zones within the Lumwana copper orebodies presently being mined. This facility would cost about $200 million and could recover approximately 2 million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8) and 12,800 tonnes of copper concentrate per year.
Exploration
Exploration drilling at Kanga proved successful and extended the Malundwe deposit to the south with an additional inferred resource of 78 million tones of 0.76% copper. The additional resource is yet to be optimized within the Lumwana pit designs.
Further exploration opportunities are recognized both near Lumwana and elsewhere on the Company’s extensive regional property holdings in Zambia.
Equinox Corporate
Equinox shareholders elected two additional independent directors, Mr. David McAusland and Mr. Jim Pantelidis, to serve on the Board of Directors of the Company.
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