In-Situ copper mining operations at the company’s Production Test Facility (PTF) have commenced and injection and recovery systems have now been fully ramped up.

Preliminary testing of solution injection and recovery rates in the third quarter of 2018 confirmed historical test work and the results now being seen confirm what was modeled in the 2017 technical study.

In early January, solutions were taken from a process sample well and copper was detected in concentrations of approximately 300 parts per million, consistent with expectations for this state of operations.

The PTF is a test facility with 24 commercial scale wells: four injection wells, nine recovery wells, and 11 groundwater monitoring-related wells. This phase will demonstrate to residents and the regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Arizona Department Environmental Quality that ISCR is a safe and proven process.

The objective of the PTF is to further enhance the potential for economic recovery of copper; however, it is also an opportunity to demonstrate the safety and reliability of the ISCR process.