Ann: Copper Mountain Mining Announces Q4 2020 Financial Results,, page-9

The sulphide ore in the copper-only deposits is quite deep (because the base of weathering is so deep) so has very unfavourable strip ratios. It was in the original URL mine plan (together with the native copper on top of it) but the economics of the combined project didn't look very good so when AC took over the plan was to get Little Eva up to the stage where it could be a standalone project. They never ruled Blackard and Scanlan out, they always said they were expansion options, but they wanted to craft the DFS so that they didn't have to rely on them, which I think was sensible. I think Cudeco's experience of trying to develop a mixed native/sulphide plant nearby proved that.

CMMC's plan seems to be to treat the native copper as waste, or at least low-grade stockpile. While this is technologically much safer it does bring the strip ratio issue back so the copper-only deposits are unlikely to be very profitable IMO. If they are worth mining at all it's probably largely to AC that the credit belongs, for getting Little Eva and Turkey Creek proved up to the stage that the plant can be fully depreciated through them. Then if the copper price is high enough when they get to Blackard and Scanlan, they will basically only need to cover operating breakeven to be worth mining.

There is a pretty reasonable chance of further sulphide discoveries in the Eva area too. If they are Eva or Turkey Creek type deposits they will probably slot in ahead of Blackard and Scanlan. But that will be a long way in the future, and who knows, by then they might have figured out a technological solution to the native copper/oxide zone too.