Canadian company Blue Moon Metals has published a feasibility study for its Nussir copper project in northern Norway. The document confirms that field can become a long-lived asset with attractive financial indicators.
According to calculations, the service period will be 13 years. Average annual production will reach 19 thousand tons of copper equivalent, including 3.6 thousand ounces of gold and 546 thousand ounces of silver. At underlying long-term prices ($4.78 per pound of copper, $3,515 per ounce of gold and $45.26 per ounce of silver), the after-tax net present value of the project (8% discount) is estimated at $235 million. The internal rate of return is 19%. Initial capital costs are $184 million.
In the structure of commercial metal, copper accounts for 77%, gold – 6%, silver – 13%.
The feasibility study is based on a current measured and indicated resource of 28.72 million tonnes of ore grading 1.2% copper equivalent. This figure includes proven and probable reserves of almost 25 million tons of ore containing 0.99% copper equivalent.
The company notes that the field remains open to the west and to depth, which provides potential for expanding the resource base. Blue Moon estimates that if 50% of the estimated resources were exploited, the production life could be extended by five years and the net present value would increase by 52%. In addition, the feasibility study only takes into account the underground part of the Nussir deposit, not including the neighboring Ulveryggen site.
The project is ready for final approval investment decision. The warm start of the enrichment plant is scheduled for the third quarter of 2027, and the start of production is scheduled for December 2027.
CEO Christian Cargl-Simard described the completion of the updated feasibility study as an important milestone confirming the strength of the asset. He added that ongoing exploration work, including wells set back 200 meters at a depth of more than one kilometer, allows Nussir to become a generational field.
Blue Moon acquired the project in late 2024 as part of a strategy to diversify away from the California zinc asset and focus on near-production properties. The site was previously the site of a mine in the 1970s, producing from four open pits until the operation closed in 1979.
Blue Moon Metals shares rose marginally in Toronto, reaching around C$11.20 per share. The company’s market capitalization is 974 million Canadian dollars (about 710 million US dollars).
Source: mining.com
Image: Nussir A.S.A.
