General Information
The Ajax Project is located in British Columbia, Canada, 400 km northeast of Vancouver in the immediate vicinity of the city of Kamloops. The project includes the construction of an open-pit copper and gold mine and an ore enrichment plant with all the necessary infrastructure. The shareholders of the project are KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. (80%) and Abacus Mining & Exploration Inc. (20%) with headquarters in Vancouver. The project is currently in the phase of planning and analysis.
History
In 2010, KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. acquired 51% of the shares in the project, in 2012 a further 29%, as a result of which KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. became the owner of a total of 80% of the shares in the project.
In 2012, KGHM International took over the role of project operator from Abacus Mining & Exploration and commenced a review of the feasibility study assumptions regarding risk and opportunities to increase the value of the project. The feasibility study, which was updated in 2016, assumed that the mine's infrastructure will be moved farther from the Kamloops community, provided for technology improvements and an increase in the processing facility’s throughput, from 60 to 65 thousand tonnes per day.
In accordance with the applicable law, the Ajax project has undergone an environmental assessment (EA) process. In 2017, the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources of British Columbia (provincial authorities) decided against granting an Environmental Assessment Certificate for the project. In 2018, the Canadian government, through the Governor-in-Council (Cabinet, federal authorities), issued a negative decision regarding the Ajax project.
Production
The current concept assumes production in an open pit mine with a width of more than 2 km and a depth of approx. 500 m. The ore will be blasted and transported to heaps. In the next phase of the production cycle, the ore will be processed into concentrate in a processing plant built as part of the project. Ore processing will be based on flotation. Average annual production of copper and gold concentrate is expected at the levels, respectively, 53,000 tonnes of copper and 114,000 ounces of gold in the 19 years of the expected life of mine.