Posted by Paul Moore on Aug 2, 2023
Excelsior Mining Corporation has entered into an option agreement with Newton LLC, a Rio Tinto venture, to further evaluate the use of Newton Leaching Technology at Excelsior’s Johnson Camp Mine in Cochise County, Arizona.
Under this agreement, Excelsior will continue to be the operator and Newton will fund Excelsior’s expenses related to the two-phase work program at Johnson Camp. Newton will pay Excelsior US$3 million up front for Stage 1 costs and US$2 million as an exclusive option to establish a joint venture with Excelsior over the Johnson Camp mine after Stage 2 is completed.
“We are delighted to be working with Nuton to move Johnson Camp forward. Johnson Camp has the potential to make progress toward improving cash flow while continuing to develop other assets, including advancing Gunnison for well stimulation testing later this year.” Excelsior Mining President and CEO Stephen Twiard commented: “The strength of this deal is that both the Gunnison and Johnson campaigns can move forward in parallel.”
Rio Tinto develops Nuton™ Technology, a broad portfolio of advanced copper heap leaching technologies for primary sulfide minerals (including low-grade deposits) that cannot be processed by conventional leaching and sulfide treatment technologies Did. These technologies offer the potential to produce additional copper in a cost-effective manner, with significant environmental benefits and reduced waste from new and ongoing operations.
Under the terms of the contract, the Stage 1 work program will include Excelsior’s completion of diamond drilling, permitting of activities, detailed engineering and project execution planning. Nuton completes mineralogy, predictive modeling, engineering and other testing work. Based on the results of the Stage 1 work program, Nuton has the option to proceed to Stage 2. The Stage 1 work program will begin in August and is expected to take six to nine months to complete.
If Newton proceeds to Stage 2, it will pay Excelsior US$5 million to use existing infrastructure at the Johnson Camp mine for the Stage 2 work program. Nuton will also be responsible for covering all of Excelsior’s costs related to Stage 2. The full program of work for Stage 2 is expected to take up to five years, but includes engineering and mobilization, infrastructure and construction, mining, leaching, copper production and post-leaching cleaning. Mining is expected to start in Year 1. Once all milestones are complete, multi-year full-scale commercial production at Johnson Camp utilizing Nuton™ technology will commence. The operating income will first be used to reimburse his Nuton for Stage 2 expenses and then credited to his Excelsior account.
Upon completion of Stage 2, Newton will have the right to establish a joint venture at Johnson Camp on mutually agreed terms, resulting in Newton’s initial 49% ownership and Excelsior’s initial 51% ownership. The purpose of this joint venture is to continue the development of the Johnson Camp Mine using Nuton™ technology. If Nuton does not exercise its joint venture rights, Nuton and Excelsior will negotiate in good faith for Excelsior’s continued use of his Nuton Technologies at Johnson Camp Mine, subject to certain licensing terms. Infrastructure development at Johnson Camp under this agreement is non-exclusive. During Stages 1 and 2, Excelsior may continue to use its Camp Johnson infrastructure to process Gunnison solutions and other copper sources unrelated to the Stage 2 work program as long as the capacity requirements of the Stage 2 work program are met. there is.
