TORONTO, April 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hudbay Minerals Inc. (“Hudbay” or the “company”) (TSX, NYSE: HBM) today announced that the final land user agreement for Pampacancha has been completed and Hudbay now has full access to the site to begin pit development activities.

“We are very pleased to have completed the final land user agreements at Pampacancha and we remain on track for first production in the second quarter of 2021, in line with guidance,” said Peter Kukielski, Hudbay’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This major milestone was achieved due to collaboration between the community and the Constancia team, which further demonstrates Hudbay’s strong social license to operate in Peru.”

In January 2021, the company commenced pre-development activities, including haul road construction and site preparation work, which will allow Hudbay to commence pre-stripping activities shortly. Pampacancha is a high-grade copper and gold satellite deposit located approximately seven kilometres from Hudbay’s Constancia mine and processing facilities in Peru. Pampacancha is expected to contribute to an increase in copper and gold production at Constancia from 2022 to 2025 as the higher grades enter into the mine plan.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, plans to commence the development of Pampacancha. Forward-looking information is not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Forward-looking information is based on, among other things, opinions, assumptions, estimates and analyses that, while considered reasonable by the company at the date the forward-looking information is provided, inherently are subject to significant risks, un.. etc. etc.

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HUDBAY ANNOUNCES POSITIVE PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT FOR ITS MASON COPPER PROJECT
APRIL 6, 2021
27-year mine life with average annual copper production of approximately 140,000 tonnes over the first ten years of full production.
Mason has the potential to more than double Hudbay’s current copper production levels, and if brought into production, Mason is expected to become the third largest copper mine in the United States.
After-tax net present value (10%) of $519 million and 13.7% internal rate of return at $3.10 per pound copper, which increases to $773 million and 15.4%, respectively, at $3.25 per pound copper.
Mine plan assumes the construction of a 120,000 tonnes per day conventional flotation concentrator and an initial capital cost estimate of approximately $2.1 billion.
The mine plan includes 1.1 billion tonnes at 0.34% copper-equivalenti, 98% of which is from the measured and indicated categories.
Mason’s 2.2 billion tonne measured and indicated resource estimate is one of the largest greenfield copper projects in the Americas.
Opportunities to further enhance project economics through exploration for higher-grade satellite deposits on Hudbay’s prospective land package in Nevada.
Mason is a viable long-term option for potential future development and a strong component of Hudbay’s pipeline of long-term growth opportunities in mining friendly jurisdictions.
TORONTO, April 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hudbay Minerals Inc. (“Hudbay” or the “company”) (TSX, NYSE: HBM) today announced the results of its preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) of its 100%-owned Mason copper project located in Nevada, United States. All dollar amounts are in US dollars, unless otherwise noted.

“The Mason PEA demonstrates the success of Hudbay’s consistent growth strategy and our team’s ability to create value from accretive acquisitions of high-quality copper projects in mining-friendly jurisdictions,” said Peter Kukielski, Hudbay’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We added Mason to our development pipeline portfolio in 2018 and have since leveraged our integrated core competencies of exploration, mine planning and project development to demonstrate that Mason is a quality long-term development project in our robust organic growth pipeline.”

Hudbay’s Mason Development Strategy

The Mason project is a large greenfield copper deposit located in the historic Yerington District of Nevada and is one of the largest undeveloped copper porphyry deposits in North America. Mason’s measured and indicated mineral resource estimates are approximately twice the size of Hudbay’s Constancia and Rosemont deposits. Hudbay views the Mason project as a long-term option for future development and a strong component of its pipeline of long-term growth opportunities in mining friendly jurisdictions. Please refer to Figure 1 for a map showing the location of the Mason project.

In 2017, Hudbay made a $2 million toe-hold equity investment in Mason Resources Corp., the entity that owned the Mason project at that time. In October 2018, Hudbay entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 86% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Mason Resources Corp. that it didn’t already own for approximately $15 million. The acquisition of Mason was completed by way of a plan of arrangement in December 2018. Since acquiring Mason, Hudbay has consolidated a prospective package of patented and unpatented mining claims contiguous to the Mason project in two private transactions in 2019 and 2020, including a property called Mason Valley, as shown in Figure 2. In March 2021, Hudbay announced an updated measured and indicated resource estimate of 2.2 billion tonnes at 0.29% copper at Mason, based on a revised resource model and an updated mine plan constructed by Hudbay personnel using the same methods applied at Constancia. The company has also advanced a number of technical studies to support the completion of its 2021 PEA.

Mason 2021 PEA Summary

The 2021 Mason PEA contemplates a 27-year mine life with average annual copper production of approximately 140,000 tonnes over the first ten years of full production. At a copper price of $3.10 per pound, the after-tax net present value using a 10% discount rate is $519 million and the internal rate of return is 13.7%. The valuation metrics are highly sensitive to the copper price and at a price of $3.25 per pound, the after-tax net present value using a 10% discount rate increases to $773 million and the internal rate of return increases to 15.4%.

A summary of key valuation, production and cost details from the 2021 PEA can be found below. For further details, including metrics provided on an annual basis, please refer to the section titled “Detailed Cash Flow Model” at the end of this news release. etc. etc. see & read more on
https://hudbayminerals.com/news-media/default.aspx#2021#Hudbay-Announces-Positive-Preliminary-Economic-Assessment-for-its-Mason-Copper-Project