17 JANUARY 2022
A milestone for Hermosa with the completion of a pre-feasibility study for Taylor
We have reached an important milestone for our Hermosa project, located in Arizona, USA, with the publication of results from the pre-feasibility study for the Taylor Deposit – the first development option at the project.
The results demonstrate that Taylor has the potential to be a sustainable, highly productive zinc-lead-silver underground mine with a conventional processing plant. It is being designed as our first ‘next generation mine’, using automation and technology to minimise our impact on the environment and to target a carbon neutral mine in line with our goal of achieving net zero operational carbon emissions by 2050.
The dual shaft design for Taylor prioritises higher grade ore in the early years, while the orebody geometry enables multiple concurrent areas to be mined. The current 138Mt Mineral Resource supports an initial mine life of more than 20 years, with potential for further life extension based on the exploration target for the resource.
Our work at Hermosa forms part of our strategy to reshape our portfolio to produce the metals that are critical for a low carbon future. Developing Taylor would further strengthen our portfolio by growing production of metals that are important in decarbonisation.
Zinc is used in renewable energy infrastructure such as solar and wind for energy conversion, and to protect against corrosion. Silver is a key element in solar panels and has higher intensity of use in electric vehicles.
The potential development of Taylor would be the first stage in realising Hermosa’s full potential. Beyond Taylor we have completed a scoping study for the Clark Deposit, which has potential to underpin a second stage of development at Hermosa with a separate, integrated mining operation producing battery-grade manganese – a critical mineral in the United States. We have commenced a pre-feasibility study at Clark and we are also reviewing the potential to pursue an integrated development with Taylor.
In addition to Taylor and Clark Hermosa has a highly prospective broader land package, which includes the copper-lead-zinc-silver Peake exploration target as well as the Flux prospect.
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