Trekor Metals Says Florence Copper Mine Needs to More Than Triple Second-Half Output to Meet Annual Production Target
Canadian mining company Trekor Metals said its Florence Copper project in Arizona will need to produce more than three times the copper output achieved in the first half of the year during the second half in order to reach its annual production target of at least 30 million pounds of copper.
The Florence Copper project is the world’s first commercial-scale in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) operation. Located more than 100 kilometers southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, the project produced 6.7 million pounds of copper during the six months ended June 30, including 5.2 million pounds in the second quarter, which marked its first full quarter of commercial operations.
To achieve its 2026 production guidance of 30 million to 35 million pounds of copper, Florence Copper still needs to produce between 23.3 million and 28.3 million pounds in the second half of the year.
Trekor CEO Stuart McDonald told The Northern Miner that the company plans to bring approximately 26 production wells online this month.
“I believe we will see a faster production ramp-up in the second half of the year, with the goal of reaching near full production rates by the end of 2026,” McDonald said.
Florence Copper represents Trekors’ primary growth driver and is currently the company’s only major pathway to increase production through organic growth rather than acquisitions. Reaching its designed production capacity of 85 million pounds of copper per year would reduce Trekors’ dependence on the Gibraltar copper mine in British Columbia and provide a key test of whether commercial-scale ISCR technology can deliver the low-cost operations projected by the company.
Beyond its existing operations, Trekors’ development pipeline is focused on the Yellowhead copper project in British Columbia, which is currently undergoing environmental assessment.
McDonald said the permitting process is expected to take another three to four years, followed by a construction period of approximately two to two and a half years. The project is expected to produce an average of 206 million pounds of copper annually during its first five years of operation.
[出处 – 上海有色网] 特雷克金属：弗洛伦斯铜矿下半年产量需增至约三倍，才能实现全年产量目标 https://news.smm.cn/news/104049336
