Emerging copper company CuFe has published a scoping study for its Orlando openpit copper/gold project in the Northern Territory, delivering a pre-tax net present value (NPV) of about A$355-million and a 59.7% internal rate of return.

The study, based on a standalone development of the Orlando pit with a new processing plant, estimated a payback period of 1.9 years. Using spot prices as of July 1, the project’s NPV increases to about A$462-million.

Total pre-production capital was estimated at A$136-million, with plant construction and installation costs accounting for A$82-million. CuFe said it would investigate capital reduction options, including the potential use of a second-hand plant and shared infrastructure with alliance partners Emmerson Resources and Tennant Minerals.

The study assumes production of 3.5-million tonnes of ore at 1.33% copper and 1.8 g/t gold, representing about one-third of CuFe’s 10.35-million-tonne Tennant Creek resource. Additional drilling is planned to upgrade more resource to the indicated category, including the partially mined Gecko and Orlando underground areas.

Executive director Mark Hancock said the study confirmed the significant potential CuFe had at Tennant Creek.

He highlighted that the Orlando openpit represented only around one-third of the overall Joint Ore Reserve Committee resource at Tennant Creek.

The company reported strong inbound interest in offtake and investment from trading houses and strategic investors.

The project, located on a granted mining lease, has been previously mined on an openpit and underground basis.

CuFe’s board has endorsed advancing to a feasibility study, which will also evaluate second-hand plant options and potential integration with partner projects. An updated resource estimate for the Gecko area is expected within the next month.

“With focus returning to the Tennant Creek region following the recent acquisition of Tennant Creek Mining Group by Pan African Resources and first production occurring at their gold plant last month, we are seeing increasing interest in offtake and investment from significant strategic players and customers who are recognising the potential of our project and considering how they can get involved,” Hancock said.