Higher grades and recoveries achieved during the demonstration phase have the potential to add a full year's production and US$43m to the project NPV. Given the high operating margins the project is not overly sensitive to changes in operating or capital costs.
Impact on NPV (US$ 000s)
Key cost drivers for the Wetar Copper project include cathode produced and tonnes mined.
A summary of the key cost items is set out below:
| Key Cost Driver | BFS |
|---|---|
| Mining ($/tonne ore mined) | $8.80 |
| Mining ($/tonne ore and waste mined) | $4.50 |
| Power ($/tonne cathode) | $860 |
| Reagents ($/tonne cathode) | $150 |
| Other Processing ($/tonne cathode) | $ 250 |
| Total Processing ($/tonne cathode) | $1,260 |