Mount Isa Minerals Executive Chairman David Williams says Glencore’s (LON:GLEN) October announcement regarding scaling back operations at the Mount Isa Mine is another example of global copper supply shortages.
As copper hopeful Mount Isa Minerals seeks to float on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in February or March 2024, Williams notes there is a potential opportunity from Glencore’s decision with a growing focus and activity likely in this part of Queensland.
He says as has been noted conservatively, 700 million tonnes of copper has been produced over the course of human history, but it is forecast that a further 1.4 billion tonnes of copper will be required to meet the 2050 net zero emissions target.
Williams adds that Glencore’s decision to scale back operations due to the lack of economic ore in the underground mine, aligns with what Mount Isa Minerals believes.
“That the processing operations needed further ore supply which for me reinforced how our company is in a prime position for future processing with our copper project directly adjacent to the mine.
It demonstrates that what we’re doing, what we’ve got, and how we progress becomes more strategically important. We knew Mount Isa was declining, we knew they needed more ore. So, it changes nothing as far as we’re concerned. I think it just improves our position.”
As such, Mount Isa Minerals and Lodge Corporate are continuing to engage with identified key cornerstone investors and target markets for the proposed IPO early next year.
The company has given consideration to not doing the IPO later than this date as it wishes to avoid the cost and time delay that would be caused by having to prepare audited half yearly accounts.
The pre-IPO capital raising has raised $200,000 and further funds have been waiting on a number of decisions by Mount Isa.
Mount Isa Minerals and Glencore are progressing discussions on a coexistence agreement accommodating the infrastructure they are proposing to establish on the company’s tenements.
On 18 October 2023, Glencore proposed to cease ‘underground copper operations’ and operate the copper concentrator in H2 2025. The copper smelter at Mount Isa and the copper refinery in Townsville will continue to operate.
Mount Isa Minerals is a copper explorer focused on delivering a copper Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) within 3 years.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Mount Isa Minerals
