Location
The Nifty Copper Complex is located on the western edge of the Great Sandy Desert in the Paterson region of Western Australia, approximately 350 km southeast of Port Hedland.
History
Nifty was initially discovered by WMC in 1981 and commenced operation in 1993 as an open pit oxide copper mine with processing via heap leaching and solvent extraction-electrowinning (“SX/EW”) recovery to produce copper cathodes. From 2006, it transitioned to an underground sulphide mine with processing via standard flotation to produce a copper concentrate at rates in excess of 50,000 tonnes of contained copper per year. Between commencement of the oxide operation and 26 November 2019, when the mine was placed into care and maintenance (“C&M”), Nifty produced more than 700,000 tonnes of copper metal.
Cyprium acquired 100% of the Nifty Copper Complex in March 2021, as part of a larger transaction with Metals X (CYM ASX Announcement – Transformational Acquisition of Highly Attractive Copper Portfolio, 10 February 2021).
Status
Cyprium has invested significant time and resources to refurbish the Nifty SX-EW (solvent extraction and electrowinning) plant and build a comprehensive understanding of the open pit potential of Nifty’s sulphide orebody. Cyprium intends to re-start operations utilising a heap leach SX-EW process to retreat the current heap leach pads. Concurrently, Cyprium is advancing a Bankable Feasibility Study to determine the optimal pathway to unlock value from the open pit sulphide material.
Infrastructure
The Nifty Copper Complex has substantial existing infrastructure, including:
- 2.8 Mtpa sulphide concentrator (in care and maintenance since November 2019)
- 25ktpa copper cathode heap leach and SX-EW facility (in care and maintenance since January 2009)
- 21 MW gas turbine power station
- Full heavy vehicle workshops and accommodation village
- Fully sealed all-weather airstrip
Location of Nifty Copper Complex
Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources
TABLE 1: Nifty Ore Reserve Estimate November 2024
| JORC 2012 CATEGORY | |||||||||
| Proved | Probable | TOTAL | |||||||
| PRODUCT | t | Cu% | t Cu | t | Cu% | t Cu | t | Cu% | t Cu |
| Concentrate | 22,700,000 | 1.06 | 239,000 | 60,600,000 | 0.85 | 514,000 | 83,300,000 | 0.90 | 753,000 |
| Cathode | 10,600,000 | 0.41 | 44,000 | 10,600,000 | 0.41 | 44,000 | |||
| TOTAL | 22,700,000 | 1.06 | 239,000 | 71,200,000 | 0.78 | 557,000 | 93,900,000 | 0.85 | 797,000 |
Ore tonnes are rounded to the nearest 100,000; Cu tonnes are rounded to the nearest 1,000; apparent discrepancies are due to rounding errors.
The Nifty Ore Reserve Estimate was released in an ASX announcement dated 27th November 2024.
Competent Person Statement
The information in this report that relates to the estimation and reporting of the Nifty Copper Complex Ore Reserve is an accurate representation of the recent work completed by MEC Advisory ltd. Mr Christofer Catania has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation, type of deposit under consideration and the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Christofer Catania consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.
TABLE 2: Nifty Mineral Resource Estimate March 2024
| Measured | Indicated | Inferred | Total | |||||||||
| Oxidation State | t | CuCUT% | t Cu | t | CuCUT% | t Cu | t | CuCUT% | t Cu | t | CuCUT% | t Cu |
| Oxide saprolite transitional | 2,603,000 | 1.02 | 26,471 | 17,519,000 | 0.74 | 130,081 | 849,000 | 0.70 | 5,902 | 20,971,000 | 0.78 | 162,000 |
| Sulphide | 35,452,000 | 0.98 | 347,610 | 63,395,000 | 0.80 | 505,685 | 5,199,000 | 0.43 | 22,479 | 104,047,000 | 0.84 | 876,000 |
| TOTAL | 38,055,000 | 0.98 | 374,080 | 80,915,000 | 0.79 | 635,765 | 6,048,000 | 0.47 | 28,381 | 125,018,000 | 0.83 | 1,038,000 |
Ore tonnes are rounded to the nearest 1,000; total Cu tonnes are rounded to the nearest 1,000; apparent discrepancies are due to rounding errors.
The Updated Nifty Mineral Resource Estimate was released in an ASX announcement dated 14th March 2024.
Competent Person Statement
The information in this report that relates to the estimation and reporting of the Nifty Copper Complex Ore Reserve is an accurate representation of the recent work completed by MEC Advisory ltd. Mr Christofer Catania has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation, type of deposit under consideration and the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Christofer Catania consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.
TABLE 3: Nifty Heap Leach Mineral Resource Estimate August 2024
| JORC 2012 CATEGORY | ||||||||
| Indicated | Inferred | TOTAL | ||||||
| t | Cu ppm | Cu t | t | Cu ppm | Cu t | t | Cu ppm | Cu t |
| 10,636,950 | 4,100 | 43,580 | 2,038,350 | 5,140 | 10,470 | 12,675,300 | 4,260 | 54,050 |
Ore tonnes are rounded to the nearest 50; Cu tonnes are rounded to the nearest 10; apparent discrepancies are due to rounding errors.
The Nifty Heap Leach Mineral Resource Estimate was released in an ASX announcement dated 19th August 2024.
Competent Person Statement
The information in this report that relates to the estimation and reporting of the Nifty Heap Leach Mineral Resource Estimate dated 19 August 2024 is an accurate representation of the recent work completed by MEC Advisory Pty Ltd. Mr Dean O’Keefe has compiled the work for MEC Advisory and is a Manager of Resources for MEC Mining and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (#112943). Mr O’Keefe has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which she is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person (CP). Mr O’Keefe consents to the inclusion in the release of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.
