Mining ramps up at Cloncurry

True North Copper (TNC) continues to make notable progress at its Cloncurry copper project in Queensland as it positions itself to become Australia’s next copper producer by the first quarter of 2025

Operations are ramping up according to plan, with sulphide processing expected to commence in the new year as the company runs a recruitment drive to keep up with growing operations.

TNC has mined approximately 223,000 bank cubic metres (BCM) of overburden and 22,000 tonnes of oxide ore since mining activities began at the Wallace North deposit in July, which has been placed on the run-of-mine stockpile.

To date, 8300 tonnes of oxide ore has been crushed and stacked on the leach pad at the Great Australia Mine (GAM), with 2400 tonnes remaining for TNC to use in its crushing campaign.

Irrigation of the ore has begun and will contribute to improved copper production from the solvent extraction (SX) plant.

“TNC continues to make positive progress towards its goal of becoming an Australian copper producer and critical minerals supplier at the CCP,” TNC managing director Bevan Jones said.

“Since our previous update in September, operations including our mining activities at Wallace North to the initial crushing and stacking activities at our Cloncurry Operations Hub have transitioned seamlessly.”

The company expects toll milling of sulphide ore to begin in the first quarter of 2025, under a binding agreement with Glencore for the toll treatment of up to one million tonnes of ore annually.

The Cloncurry copper project is estimated to generate free cash flow of approximately $200 million over its initial 4.6-year mine life, based on current copper prices.

Recruitment efforts are underway to support the growing operations, with 28 new employees expected to join TNC by mid-November.

“Concurrently, we have been buoyed by the response to our recruitment campaign in Queensland to build our team at CCP,” Jones said. “Our recruitment drive is continuing as we aim to establish a workforce of 100 people at CCP by December.”