I can tell right now that pretty much all of the ore more than 200m below surface is uneconomic to mine with an open pit given the conditions of Rocklands; haul distances are too high given that the strip ratio will go through the roof and the grade generally decreases with depth (to below 0.8% CuEq). So if they have hopes of mining this project long term, beyond 10 years, they will definitely need to resort to underground mining. Sublevel caving is popular for the area, but rates any higher than 2MTpa would be a pipedream for a deposit of this shape.
Whoever this logistics bloke is who reckons 6MTpa is attainable in the long term, good luck getting 30% of that...
If I was a shareholder of this company, I'd be aiming for something like this long term.
1. 10 years at 3MTpa @ ~1.8% CuEq (open pit)
2. 5 years of transition @ 2 to 3MTpa @ 1.5% CuEq
3. Underground mining thereafter at 2MTpa @ 1% CuEq
This 6Mtpa to 10MTpa notion is just crazy talk for a deposit of this kind. Their best chance of hitting 10MTpa would be from the outset where the ore is shallow and strip ratios are low; if they can't hit that now, there's no way they'll hit it down the track.
