Caraíba Operations
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The Caraíba Operations (formerly known as the MCSA Mining Complex) are located in northeastern Bahia State, Brazil, approximately 385 kilometers north-northwest of the capital city of Salvador. The operations consist of fully integrated mining operations and processing facilities, including the Pilar and Vermelhos underground mines and the Surubim open pit mine. Ore is processed using conventional crushing and flotation at the Caraíba Mill, located adjacent to the Pilar underground mine. A high-grade, clean concentrate grading approximately 32 to 35% copper is shipped and sold locally to the Paranapanema Smelter and to international markets via the Port of Salvador.
The high-grade mafic-ultramafic mineral occurrences contained within the Caraíba Operations extend over 100 kilometers in strike length. Near mine and regional exploration activities are concentrated in three under-explored mineral districts: the Pilar District, located in the south, the centrally located Surubim District and the northern Vermelhos District. Combined, these districts provide excellent exploration potential over approximately 164,000 hectares controlled by Ero Copper.
Primary Commodity:
CopperMine Types:
Underground and Open Pit2022 Production:
46,371 tonnes of copper in concentrate2022 C1 Cash Costs:
$1.36 per pound of copper produced2023 Production Guidance:
44,000 - 47,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate2023 C1 Cash Cost Guidance:
$1.40 - $1.60 per pound of copper produced -
Classification Tonnage
(000 tonnes)Grade
(%Cu)Contained Copper
(000 tonnes)Mineral Reserves, Underground Proven 17,336 1.30% 226 Probable 22,125 1.51% 333 Proven & Probable 39,461 1.42% 559 Mineral Resources, Underground (including Reserves) Measured 34,224 1.44% 493 Indicated 35,389 1.48% 525 Measured & Indicated 69,613 1.46% 1,018 Inferred 35,888 1.15% 411 Mineral Reserves, Open Pit Proven 19,148 0.55% 106 Probable 24,158 0.53% 128 Proven & Probable 43,306 0.54% 234 Mineral Resources, Open Pit (including Reserves) Measured 20,803 0.62% 129 Indicated 27,486 0.56% 154 Measured & Indicated 48,289 0.59% 283 Inferred 11,513 0.62% 71 Mineral Reserve & Resource Notes:
- Please refer to the Technical Report for the Caraíba Operations for additional scientific and technical information, available on this website and on SEDAR (www.SEDAR.com) and EDGAR (www.sec.gov).
- Mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates are effectiveas at September 30, 2022.
- Presented mineral resources inclusive of mineral reserves. All figures have been rounded to the relative accuracy of the estimates. Summed amounts may not add due to rounding.
- Mineral reserve estimates were prepared in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (“CIM”) Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on May 10, 2014 (the “CIM Standards”), and the CIM Estimation for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines, adopted by CIM Council on November 29, 2019 (the “CIM Guidelines”), using geostatistical and/or classical methods, plus economic and mining parameters appropriate for the deposit. Mineral reserves are based on a long-term copper price of US$3.30 per pound (“lb”), and a USD:BRL foreign exchange rate of 5.29. Mineral reserves are the economic portion of the Measured and Indicated mineral resources. Mining dilution and recovery factors vary for specific mineral reserve sources and are influenced by factors such as deposit type, deposit shape, stope orientation and selected mining method. In the mine design of the Pilar and Vermelhos underground mines, certain stopes include measured and indicated as well as inferred resource blocks. In these instances, inferred resource blocks within the defined mining shape were assigned zero grade. In 2021, inferred blocks assigned zero grade totaled approximately 188,000 tonnes for the Deepening Extension Zone, 234,000 tonnes for the Pilar Underground Mine and approximately 27,000 tonnes for the Vermelhos Underground Mine. Development occurring within marginal ore, above the operational cut-off grade, has also been included in the mineral reserve estimate. Dilution occurring from measured and indicated resource blocks was assigned grade based upon the mineral resource grade of the blocks included in the dilution envelope.
- Underground mineral resource estimates have been constrained within newly developed 3D lithology models applying a 0.45% and 0.20% copper grade envelope for high and marginal grade, respectively. Within these envelopes, mineral resources for underground deposits were constrained using varying stope dimensions of up to 20m by 10m by 35m applying a 0.51% copper cut-off grade, as well as a 0.34% copper marginal (or operational) cut-off grade. Mineral resources have been estimated using ordinary kriging inside 5m by 5m by 5m block sizes. The mineral resource estimates were prepared in accordance with the CIM Standards, and the CIM Guidelines, using geostatistical and/or classical methods, plus economic and mining parameters appropriate to the deposit.
- Open pit mineral resources have been constrained within newly developed 3D lithology models using a 0.16% copper cut-off grade for deposits. Mineral resources have been estimated using ordinary kriging inside 5m by 5m by 5m block sizes. The mineral resource estimates were prepared in accordance with the CIM Standards, and the CIM Guidelines, using geostatistical and/or classical methods, plus economic and mining parameters appropriate to the deposit.
Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
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December 22, 2022
