article from the australian

Seeking a copper-bottomed deal.

Robin Bromby | November 05, 2009
Article from: The Australian

THE metals all rose overnight and copper jumped 1.8 per cent to $US6575/tonne.

The folks at Golden Cross Resources will be hoping the trend holds as they try to get their NSW copper-gold project off the ground. A stock price of 2.6c suggests that GCR hasn’t been one of the darlings of the recent resources surge. It describes itself as a multi-national explorer with projects in China, Panama and Canada as well as here. It is also a multi-commodity story.

And that may be part of the problem - investors are not quite sure what is the story of the day.

Well, it may now have a focus with Copper Hill in NSW. A new pit optimisation has, the company claims, set it on the track to production. And, of course, it helps that there is Chinese money available.

The mine will now have a 19.5 year life and produce more than 335,000 tonnes of copper and 1.1 million ounces of gold. There will also be a sulphur (sulphuric acid) by-product.

The grades are not anything to write home about - 0.318 per cent copper and 0.283 grams/tonne gold - but it is a long life mine.

Another piece of positive news is that the Chinese say they can fabricate all the plant and equipment back home and send it in modular form to be erected at the mine site. The spur railway off the Sydney-Broken hill line will make that exercise so much easier logistically.

The next stage is a bankable feasibility study of the fabricating plan being put together by China Automation Control System for a presentation to Chinese banks.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,26308525-15023,00.html